A Different Legend
by Infamous Storm
Summary: Naruto is literally one of the most talented shinobi to have ever graced the ninja world in the past five hundred years, yet he uses his brilliance to get out of work rather than do it himself. Too bad having a fox in your gut complicates things... AU. Pairings in the works. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

A Different Legend

Chapter One: Stepping into the Light

An intense heat lingered in the air, one so palpable that it seemed to burn his flesh. It etched away at his skin, causing his blue eyes to open to a canvas of a burning inferno.

"Wow…" the voice muttered as he watched the form of a nine-tailed fox destroy everything in its range of vision, tongues of flame raging forth from the tips of its tail. It was truly a morbid sight to behold: shinobi lay beaten, women lay broken, buildings lay destroyed. It would have caused any fourteen-year old boy to vomit; all those dead bodies. They just laid there in the pools of their own blood.

"Unreal…" a strand of awe was interlaced in the blonde's voice as he saw the flames of destruction engulf the landscape around him.

The hulking figure of the fox seemed to stop for a moment, its white fangs gleaming wildly as it turned to the pale-looking youth, bloodlust raging within its eyes.

The boy just stared back, still in awe. This seemed to amuse the beast before him as it let out a maniacal laugh, the flames around it flaring up in its joy.

**"Feel that boy?"** Its voice boomed as it edged closer to the form of the young lad, its powerful breath knocking the boy off his feet as he landed on his butt.

**"The overwhelming feeling of despair?"** It smiled as the boy stepped away in what seemed like fear, actual fear.

**"What does it make you wanna do? Knowing that one day that I'll rise up and take everything away from you?"**

It stared long and hard at the young blonde, waiting for the response that it had been waiting for oh so long to hear.

"…" The young man was silent for a second, his body shivering as he tried to remain calm.

Suddenly, however, he chuckled, his body relaxing.

"Hehe…" He smiled, the awe and fear disappearing to be replaced by amusement. "You lost your touch Kurama." The blonde stood up to dust himself off.

This caused the fox to frown.

**"Really, nothing?"** The young blonde burst out laughing, wiping away a tear from his eyes.

"What'd you expect me to do?" He cracked his neck. "Piss myself?"

**"Actually, no…"** It growled as it lay its head down in defeat, the landscape disappearing as it stared at the boy from behind a cage. **"But I'm still hoping…"** it trailed off as it sighed in frustration

"That I'll act like an actual little teenager with dreams, deal with puberty, make friends my own age, and apply myself?" The blonde quirked his head inquisitively.

This caused the fox rest its head on its paws, staring at the boy with a sense of annoyance.

**"…"  
**

"What?"

**"…"**

"You just gonna eye rape-me all day…?" An uncomfortable silence reigned for what seemed like hours.

It edged its head close to the bar, opening its giant maw.

**"You astound me…" **the blonde quirked his head at the creature. **"You're so tired of life already. You have no dreams, no yearning to succeed…"**

"Your point?" The boy scratched his head nonchalantly.

**"My point is that I've tried every day to arouse you out of your mundane life. You could do so much with your little human-life span. Do things no man could ever dream of… Yet you sit at home all day watching freaking romantic comedies on that image conjuring box of yours!"**

"You mean a television?"

**"Honestly!**" It growled, disregarding the boy's snide remark. **"At the age of three you already could read and write. At the age of five you could already use chakra! Then at the age of nine… you mastered the art of sealing. In three months!"**

Its eyes were bloodshot.

**"THREE! FUCKING! MONTHS!"** It snarled as it looked down at the blonde with unrestrained fury. **"Then, because you hate dealing with people… you somehow… somehow defying all logic, snuck into the Hokage's office to steal a scroll on the shadow clone technique, thinking it would be useful to distract people since you saw other ninja in the village use it."**

It clawed at the cage.

**"Then you perverted it! You used the seals to implant a fake persona of yourself into a shadow clone, pumped enough chakra into duration seals so it could last multiple punches, and sent it into the village so you didn't have to deal with anybody!"**

Its tails flailed wildly as the entire mindscape shook from its rage.

**"FOR THE LAST THREE FREAKING YEARS!"**

It roared one final time, sending a shockwave that blasted into the boy, blowing him back as it smashed him into a wall.

Strangely though, the boy just stood up and dusted himself off as he stared into Kyuubi's eyes.

"You done?"

The fox's chest was heaving after its little tirade, its eyes staring angrily at the blonde before him.

However, despite the fox's raging state the blonde boy crossed his arms as he stared back.

"I'll wait…"

The giant behemoth snarled and banged at the cage, wanting to rip apart the boy's flesh. It seemed to do this for hours on end, yet the boy stared back at him, unfazed.

**"…**" It plopped down on the ground, exhausted from its outburst. Deciding it was calm, the boy walked forth.

"You okay, Kurama? Anger isn't good for your blood pressure." The fox got up, looking at the blonde with annoyance.

**"Brat, demons don't have blood, or organs, or freaking anything internal. We're beings of chakra…"**

"I know that."

**"Then why'd you talk about blood pressure?"**

"Because you love correcting me!" He smiled, causing the fox frown.

**"Oh you know me _soooo_ well Naruto!"** It mocked.

"Well of course…" The blonde wagged his finger playfully. "We've been talking to eachother since I was five. I would have to be some stupid idiot from an anime not to know anything about you right now."

The fox snorted.

"What…?" It looked at the blonde, sighing once again.

**"… I'm just tired of you sitting on your ass all day. Its boring…"**

"… we've had this conversation way too many times Kurama."

"**Well of course! You should get to know some people, act with people your own freaking age! Not talk to an age-old demon while reading old magazines!" **It started lecturing.**"Plus you could start training more…"** It looked away, muttering under its breath. "…**and you could stop masturbating…"**

"… I don't masturbate…"

**"I've seen you drool over older woman while looking through that creepy telescope of yours."**

"So?"

**"You have several dirty magazines under your couch…"**

"So?"

**"I've seen the stains on your bed…"**

Silence.

"What stains?"

**"…**" It stared at the boy long and hard. If looks could kill, the boy would be a pile of mush on the floor.

"…"

**"…"**

"…"

**"Nevermind. Just please, get out of your room…"**

The boy sighed, pouting.

"… You're not gonna give up, are you…?" It had been doing this after the first year of his absence from society, and it was getting more and more persistent after each time the blonde said no.

**"This is the day you're assigned to a squad. If you don't go I'll _make_ you…"**

"Oh and what could you do?" The blonde asked wryly.

**"… You don't want to go down that road kid…"**

"Try me!" The blonde chuckled, cracking his neck. "What could you do?"

**"… I can conjure up images right?"**

"Yeah… s-" Naruto's eyes widened.

"No..."

**"Yes…"**

"NO!"

**"Yes."**

"YOU WOULDN'T!"

**"I would."**

He stared at the fox, his eyes the size of saucers.

"… You're not thinking of…" Images of naked men suddenly appeared in his mind, causing his stomach to feel queasy.

It shivered. **"I'm afraid so."**

"… That's just wrong." The blonde started making gagging sounds.

**"You've forced my hand Naruto."**

"… BUT WHY!" Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

**"Because I'm like one of those old masters from a kung-fu movie. I guide you to greatness."** It paused for a second**. "Except I'm not wrinkly like a prune."** It grinned. "**I'm even more awesome!"**

The blond was on his knees in defeat.

"Fine…"

The fox's jaw hit the ground.

Wait, the boy had said yes. He actually agreed!

The stubborn brat had finally willingly conceded to him!

Never in the beast's entire life had it felt such heart-warming joy, the feeling of having all its work finally paying off.

It had not just completed the quest. It had not just saved the beautiful princess from the castle. It had not even just conquered the five elemental nations and revived Uchiha Madara so it could rip off his head.

No it had done something much greater…

It had gotten Uzumaki Naruto out of his room.

**"Now go to your school…" **It said as it feigned indifference, barely able to restrain its brimming excitement

The boy pouted before phasing out.

(Outside the mindscape)

Naruto sighed as he awoke, stretching.

"Damn fox…" He got out of bed as he went to the closet, opening it up.

And out appeared the clone version of himself, standing still like a statue, a stupid smile on its face.

"GAH!" Naruto jumped back. "What the hell…?" the clone was always so creepy, especially with those lifelike eyes… staring into his soul.

"…this is gonna be weird." … He had kept the clone going for five years, pumping chakra into it every day and night so it would continue going… it was amazing really. He had made the perfect fake personage, it had lived his life like it were actually him… well, a different version of him. It was outgoing, energetic, and extroverted; the complete opposite of himself.

He had made it because he was tired of going out into the village, receiving those stares of pity and anger…

It made him feel so lonely, but he guessed he would just have to endure for now.

Anything was better than the torture of gay porn.

He sighed as he touched its forehead, an intricate seal array glowing along the boy's frame.

"Bye me. I'm gonna miss you…" The clone "poofed" out of existence as a flood of memories flooded Naruto's cranium.

Three years of experiences had just been downloaded into his mind.

He fell on the floor, eyes shut in agony. "… Fuck!" He clutched his head, his brain wanting to burst as three years of life flashed before his eyes.

"…" He stared down into the floor, tears flowing down onto his cheeks as the pain of being mocked by his fellow students… the pain of the villagers glares… the constant whispers behind his back… all flooded into him…

"…Damn it…" The boy cursed again.

"Damn it Kurama…" He growled as he got changed, noticing how the fox chose not to respond to him.

"Jerk…" The boy opened the door.

The light was blinding.

"AHHHH! MY EYES!" Naruto hissed as he shielded his vision with his arm.

_To be continued…._

**So what'd yah think? Different huh?**

**I know this is a new concept, and I know the relationship between Naruto and Kurama is … less used... But again, tell how I could improve, what you liked, and didn't like.**

**Hoped you enjoyed yourselves, and feel free to drop a review.**

**Storm Out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is not a crack fic it's a fic about a jerk who learns to love and has to overcome his own laziness so he can fulfill his destiny.**

**But making it dark and gritty is sooooooo 2008 fanfiction.**

**Chapter 2**

**Rocking the Jungle**

*Plop…* Naruto groaned as his head met the ground. The light had blinded him so much that he had fallen down the stairs and into the street.

**"Hahaha, smooth kid…"** The demon had a playful grin.

"Shut up fox…" Naruto growled as he got up and rubbed his light-sensitive eyes, noticing an array of curious and annoyed stares.

"What you bitches looking at!?" The blonde yelled, causing everyone to stare; they had NEVER heard the blonde boy curse…There was an awkward silence as the entire street focused their attention on the blonde boy.

It was like a thousand eyes were staring at his soul.

"Hey! I freaking tripped! Have a problem with that!?" Naruto asked mildly annoyed. He then was shoved in the face with another fistful of irritation.

"Mommy!? What was that word the boy sa-"

"Just walk away honey! Pretend he doesn't exist." A woman was hurrying her kid away from the blonde menace.

Said blonde menace had his eye twitching, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips as he headed towards the academy, trying to ignore the looks of disgust from the villagers.

That being said, he very well heard the whispers of distaste from their lips.

"What type of kid curses in front of a five year old?'

"I know right?"

The comments continued, etching away at the ninja's patience. Honestly, why did the fox make him want to react with the world more...

_"I hate you Kurama…"_

**_"Oh, I love you too…" _**A fierce snicker resounded throughout the beast's cage

_"No seriously, you tire me out."_

**_"Watching TV tires you out. That hardly says anything."_**

Naruto let out a growl. The fox had a point, but he would be damned if it had the last snide remark. He tapped his chin for a second, before a smirk adorned his face.

_"At least I don't have rabbit ears."_

**_"FUCK Y-"_** Naruto smiled as he cut off the connection.

(The academy fifteen minutes later)

The orange enigma sighed happily as he arrived at the academy. The other genin were talking amongst themselves, pretending he didn't exist.

Ahh, finally he could rest. He took his place at an open seat in the middle of the classroom.

But alas, fate had different plans for the blonde.

"I GOT HERE FIRST INO-PIG!"

"NUH-UH FOREHEAD!" A mob of banshees followed the girls as the sound in the room escalated three thousand decibels.

_"Oh dear god… why… WHY!?"_ Naruto almost cried as the high pitched wails pierced his ears. Being the jinchuuriki of a fox demon gave him heightened sense.

He dared not raise his head lest the predators noticed him. However his efforts were for naught; they could smell his fear.

"Naruto, get up! You're in the seat next to Sasuke-kun!" Oh dear lord… it was the pink-haired one. Why did his clone like this one? She was so loud!

The blonde remained motionless, hoping her own voice would tire her out.

It didn't.

"HEY I'M TALKING TO YOU DUMBY!" A sigh met her irritation, causing a vein to bulge on her neck. "What was that!?" a chorus of agreement met the girl's exclamation, being further aroused as a lazy blue orb cracked open to gaze at them.

"You need something?" Naruto yawned as he cracked his neck.

"…" The girl was speechless… the blonde was so aloof, no he was just apathetic, with a slight hint of irritation. It was the complete opposite of his normal everyday behavior. It was quite alarming actually. "S-stop acting so cool!" she stuttered, shaken off her game. "And move!"

Naruto just gave her a long, hard stare in response. "Why?"

"What do you mean why!?"

"I'm asking the questions here." He said sternly, stunning everyone at his rudeness. The boy had just talked back to his lifelong crush. Something was wrong. Even Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at the scene in fascination.

"…" Sakura only stared back, mouth agape.

"Why," Naruto asked in irritation, his fingers drumming on the desk, "should I move when I got here first?"

"B-because, your annoying and you'll just end up getting into another fight with Sasuke-kun." Sakura saw Naruto flare his nose before he turned to Sasuke.

"Uchiha-san?"

Sasuke blinked for a few seconds as he composed himself, stunned by Naruto's politeness.

Something had changed about the boy… something Sasuke couldn't place his finger on. Normally, he would've called him an imposter because of the change in behavior, but the boy's chakra signature was the exact same… just… stronger…

It also hard for the boy to move because Naruto was unleashing a thick miasma of killing intent that lashed out against everyone in the classroom, enough to paralyze a pack of wolves into submission… and the blonde didn't even know he was doing it.

"Y-yes?"

"Am I annoying you?"

"Um, no…"

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

A pause. "Go ahead." The Uchiha responded, slightly scared of the blonde.

"Thank you…" Naruto smiled weakly as he turned to Sakura, leaving Sasuke blinking, the entire fangirl squadron agape, and the rest of the class stunned.

"Now tell me…" His eyes narrowed. "Does being annoying justify kicking me out of my seat? I think it hardly qualifies unless you want to be a genuine ass."

Again Sakura stood in shock, unable to register the comments the boy said.

The two just stared at each other, the tension in the air thick enough that you could cut it with a knife.

"Well, I'm waiting…" his fingers drummed the desk harshly.

"… w-what… what happened to you?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"… I'm pissed…" Naruto stated quietly… "I'm tired… and your voice…" He paused as he glared at the rest of the legion of fangrisl. "No." He banged the desk, showing a crazy amount of physical strength and unrestrained anger as the desk split beneath his fist.

It frankly horrified everybody.

"All your voices make me want to rip out my goddamn ears. They're so high pitched, so freaking screechy. What the hell!?" He growled while baring a pair of developed canines.

"And furthermore, you don't think I get tired of your constant bitching about me." He stood up as he approached the fangirls, making them step back.

He almost roared. "The bitchosity as you complain about every little thing I do: my taijutsu, my weapon accuracy, my speed, my freaking ninjutsu…." His killing intent was suffocating everybody. It was as if they were flowers in a garden, and he was a raging dragon. Kids were actually on the verge of fainting, unable to breathe out of fear.

But then they were spared.

"…*huff*…" Naruto sighed as he took another breath. "Goddamn memories…" He muttered under his breath. "…" He licked his lips as he calmed himself, noticing how everyone was backed up against the wall.

"Fuck…" He looked at the scene around him, almost sighing as he looked around him. "Wow..." He looked to the stunned form of the fangirls.

He scratched his cheek nervously. "I think I should leave..." He left the room, nobody daring to look at him, lest he bite their head off. "You can have the seat."

It was at this moment that Iruka walked into the room, noticing how everyone seemed to be staring at Sakura's stunned reaction.

"…" a vein appeared on Iruka's head. "Really!?"

It shocked everyone out of their stupor, leaving Sakura the only one to speak up.

"Iruka-sens-"

"STOP BREAKING EVERYTHING SAKURA! SERIOUSLY!"

Nobody defended her because of their newfound fear of Naruto Uzumaki.

"Bu-"

"You've broken everything in the past years: chairs, desks, walls! You have any idea how much it all costs!?"

(With Naruto in an empty classroom across the hall.)

Naruto sighed as he looked at the room, a feeling of relief washing over his small frame.

This is what he wanted: peace, silence, and tranquility. He could rest in comfort.

He smiled as he laid down, resting his head, welcoming the smooth surface of mahogany. Yet, before he even got a few moments of relaxed sleep, he was interrupted.

**_"You really suck at the art of the gab my boy."_**

Naruto rubbed his eyes, groaning in frustration. _"Kurama, I'm freaking tired…"_

**_"You like gay porn?"_**

_"…"_ Naruto was speechless.

**_"You need to__ apologize…"_**

_"What do you want me to do? I think I permanently scarred them for life."_ He said in exasperation.

**_"Bitch, they'll get over it. I'm talking about making fun of my ears!"_**

_"…"_

**"…_ I'm waiting…"_** It grinned devilishly.

_"…"_

**_"Do you like your men oily?"_** Naruto could have sworn that the fox was rolling on the floor in silent laughter.

_"How can you stand those images? You have to conjure them up and send them to me!"_ Naruto face twisted into one of repulsion.

**_"You're finally listening to me. I don't care."_**

_"Touché, I'm sorry…"_

**_"I'll take it!" _**The fox grinned in its moment of victory before it frowned within its cage, resting its massive head on its paws. **_"Naruto…_"** It paused in hesitation. **"_Do you know what karma is?"_**

_"Yes I'm very well aware of what karma is. I'm Hindu."_

**_"You eat beef."_** It deadpanned.

_"And I thank the cow spirits for their delicious sacrifice."_

**_"Dammit Naruto."_** The fox chuckled slightly, a hint of annoyance laced in it voice.**_"I swear, you're gonna meet a beautiful woman one day, one who is scarier, stronger, and smarter than you."_** The fox smiled. **_"And she's gonna make you fall in love with her… she'll change you, make you into a better man… "_**

_"Kurama, despite the fact that is totally random and ludicrous, I will never fall in love with a woman. They're too much trouble. They always complain about everything, and then their junk starts bleeding and they turn into freaking demons… Seriously, they're just nice to look at."_

**_"… and you'll be her little bitch…"_**

_"…Kurama, are you even listening to me…?"_

**_"…you'll keep on coming back for the mind blowing sex…"_**

_"…Kurama?"_

**_"…_** **_and every night will be a fierce whirlwind of burning passion."_**

_"…"_

**_"Your bodies will be joined like pieces of Velcro."_**

Naruto's had a look of utter disgust staining his face. "…_ What the fuck Kurama?"_

**_"I'm just telling your Karma, Naruto. You will fall in love with a woman who will make you actually give a damn, and she will cause you as much pain and agony as you do to everyone around you."_**

_"…Why?"_

**_"Because Kitsunes can predict the future, blondie!"_**

_"… Then how come you're stuck inside my gut?"_ Naruto deapanned.

**_"… It happens spontaneously…"_** The fox muttered under its breath.

_"…riiiiigggght…."_

The conversation ended right there as Naruto resumed snoring, enjoying the nice hard mahogany against his skin.

*Knock* *Knock* Knock*

The orange-clad boy yawned as he woke up from a nice nap.

"Come in…"

A silver-haired ninja walked in, his hair defying gravity…

Naruto blinked…

"Kami, how much hair gel do you use?"

"…" This caused the man to eye-smile through his only visible eye. "Not any actually!" He chuckled softly.

"That's impossible…" Naruto whispered in awe. He wished his hair was that cool.

"Okay, okay enough flattery. Meet me up at the roof." The man vanished in a swirl of leaves. Naruto blinked before shrugging and walking upstairs. In a few minutes he was up, noticing the forms of Sakura and Sasuke waiting patiently…

"Crap…" Naruto muttered. "Kami hates me." Why oh why was he pa… oh yeah, he gave his clone an IQ of 78… that was dumb on hindsight.

Needless to say at the sight of him, Sakura stiffened, while Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He had officially made them wary of him.

**_"…They'll get over it! They just need to see the awesome side of you!"_** Kyuubi chimed in to cheer up his friend.

_"What awesome side?"_ Naruto mentally inquired, quirking his eyebrow.

The fox opened its mouth in excitement before pausing**_ "… I got nothing…"_** Its ears drooped down.

_"Thank_ _you,"_ The blonde chuckled. "_Trying to impress them would be too much work anyways." _The blonde smiled.

**_"…you nearly gave them heart attacks... and you rather ignore them than actually give a damn."_** The fox sighed in frustration once again.

_"I love you too."_ The blonde sat down a safe distance away from his teammates. It was truly an interesting sight for Kakashi Hatake as he saw two Genin edging away from the blonde, who was yawning in boredom.

_"…well, ain't this a joyful festival of love?" _ The Jonin quirked his eyebrow as he observed the Genin… oh boy… these kids would fail his test hard.

Needless to say Kakashi tried to get the team to introduce themselves, but he got nothing! They gave vaguer answers than him for christs sake!

The two Gennin refused to give straight answer in front of the blonde; there was something odd going on. Also, the blonde said he was too tired to introduce himself.

What do you even say to that!?

He had even tried to scare them with the news of a test that they would have to do to become actual Genin… the two actually showed some fear, like actual normal people. However the blonde just stared at him before yawning. That kid wasn't normal.

(The next day)

Sakura and Sasuke waited patiently for their sensei.

It was an awkward silence to say the least; you could probably hear a pin drop. Sasuke just sat on a tree branch, while Sakura leaned against the trunk.

They had stood there awkwardly for the past fifteen minutes, until the pinkette opened her mouth.

"Sasuke…" Sakura said hesitantly….

"Yes…" The Uchiha responded lazily, out of boredom.

The girl paused for a second, before willing the urge to ask her question. "… Am I a bitch?" Sasuke blinked, nearly falling off his tree branch.

"…W-why do you say that?" Sasuke asked timidly, not expecting her to ask anything of the sort.

"…" The Uchiha saw the girl lip quiver as she leaned tiredly against the tree. "Because… Naruto used to adore me…" her head drooped down. "Every day, when I would walk to school he would always greet me with that dopey grin of his. He viewed me like I could do no wrong…" She was sniffling as tears formed… "He was like my prince charming… whenever I was in a bad mood he would always saying something to cheer me up. I…" she sniffled some more. "… mistreated him…" Tears began to fall. "I'm the biggest bitch in the world! I would beat him up everyday…" she couldn't wipe away all the tears. "All because I thought you were cute!" She screeched. "All because I wanted your attention... all because of my stupid fixation on you!" She bawled even more.

Sasuke's jaw hung open. He was not trained to handle this. He was literally the worst person to handle this situation.

"… and now he looks at me with disgust, like I'm a freak with two heads." Sasuke could literally feel the sorrow coming off from the girl; she was truly torn about her entire existence.

"Ummm…." He just stared at the situation, aloss for words.

She just cried, mumbling about how sorry she was…

"Ummm…." He just stared, afraid to approach her. "Ummm…" He heard footsteps, and he saw the most amazing thing in his life. It was as if Kami-sama himself had graced the world with his presence.

Naruto walked lazily, before his eyes widened. He noticed the intense sobbing of a girl… it was Sakura, hysterically holding onto a tree in tears.

He then noticed Sasuke was looking at him as if asking for the biggest favor in his entire life, almost as if Naruto did this one thing, he would gladly give up his life several times over for him.

The blonde was stunned, completely lost in what to do.

If Sasuke was the worst person to handle situation, then there was no word in the dictionary to describe how utterly ill-equipped Naruto was in dealing with this situation.

_"… Kurama…?"_

**_"You need help?"_**

_"… that's an understatement. What the hell is happening?"_

**_"… it seems as if the pink banshee is sorry for what she did and wishes for your forgiveness…"_**

_"I seriously doubt that…"_

**_"It's the truth…"_**

_"What am I supposed to do?"_

**_"Act like a person who gives a damn!"_**

_"It's kinda hard when you don't…"_

**_"I said act dammit! Just try to give two shits about others' feelings for once!"_**

_"Why? She's literally been the worst person in the world to me…"_

**_"Because you got to learn to be the bigger man in life!"_**

_"That sounds like a lot of work."_

**_"GODDAMIT NARUTO!"_** Naruto winced as the fox nearly burst open his eardrums. This situation was horrible; how was he going to fix this before Kakashi arrived?

To make matters worse, said silver-haired nin chose this moment to appear.

The man just stared awkwardly at the scene before him, looking back and forth between each of the prospective Genin.

"…I don't get paid enough for this…" He rubbed his temples irritably. "… You guys will probably be the worst team in the entire existence… screw it, you all fail…" The ice in his voice cut deep into Sasuke and Sakura's hearts as they just stared in shock, completely dismayed as they froze in place.

Now Naruto was a very interesting child, he hated people, despised them, and yet as soon as he saw the looks of speechless horror upon his two comrades… it enraged him. The boy was lazy, apathetic about everything… but if there was one shred of good about him, it was to never to let his own actions change the lives of other people unjustly.

If Naruto would admit one thing it was this; his team wouldn't be acting like this if it wasn't for him, if it wasn't for his little outburst back there everything would be fine.

Plus he would never live it down if those two people failed right now, he would be blamed for the rest of his life, and that was much more trouble than it was worth.

"Now you listen here…" Naruto growled. "They shouldn't suffer… if you're going fail somebody it should be me."

Kakashi blinked, completely surprised from what the boy said. "… That's impossible, there can only be a three man squad." He responded coolly.

"Then don't fail us…"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?" Kakashi edged dangerously close to the blonde boy, his killing intent flooding the area in roaring fury.

Naruto chuckled, unfazed. "Because… I'll make you regret it…"

"You couldn't if you tried." Kakashi's voice rasped with a cool edge that seemed to cut the other two genin's hoped even further down.

However Naruto growled, baring his fangs like a lion ready to pounce…

But the boy laughed cooly again, grinning as he walked away.

"I guess your right…" Those words threw everybody off… was that it? The boy had simply given up after a few words…. How sad.

"Who really cares…" He was getting farther and farther away, his voice growing distant. "I mean…" He flicked his wrist, an orange book appearing in a wisp of smoke in his hand.

"Limited edition Icha Icha novels signed by Jiraiya himself are a dime a dozen right?" The boy grinned devilishly as he was thirty feet away.

Kakashi blinked… noticing the sudden lightness in his pocket.

"…No…" He blinked…

'How... h-how…" The book was literally in his pocket just a second ago.

Sasuke and Sakura just observed in shock, the pinkette wiping away her tears, unable to believe the boy's speed. They hadn't even see him move… he didn't move, it was impossible.

Naruto wagged his finger. "Kakashi Hatake." He smiled. "The copy cat ninja, A-rank in the bingo book, possesses a Sharingan in his left eye, excellent Taijutsu capabilities, phenomenal ninjutsu arsenal, impeccable genjutsu skills. Nearly flawless stealth skills, decent interrogation skills, level 4 seal master... all around, one of the best shinobi in the village."

Kakashi blinked… how did this boy know so much? What type of Genin knew this type of information? It wasn't public; it wasn't just handed out in a silver platter to anybody.

"However…" Naruto grinned, a cocky swagger visible the way he carried himself. "You have one weakness, a weakness that any woman drunk at a local bar would be willing to give out."

_"Damn it Anko..." _Kakashi cursed.

"You." He grinned. "Love. Icha. Icha. Paradise."

"How'd you get the book?" Kakashi insisted.

"Funny thing about seals…" The boy grinned. "They have a variety of uses, they can be used to summon objects, create explosions, seal demons, oh the list is endless… why don't people study them more? Honestly they're really a nifty trick…" The boy smiled, his eyes sparkling in mischief.

"You're a seal master?"

"Meh, depends what your definition of a master is…" A complex tetragram seal appeared on the book, causing Kakashi's eyes to widen; a seal-invisibilty seal was laced upon a detonation seal and a summoning seal...

Kakashi's throat dried. "What level…?"

"Nine," the blonde said offhandedly.

Kakashi's blood froze. "Hehe let's not get hasty here…"

"No, I mean it's kinda embarrassing that I was able to sneak into your house for thirty seconds and draw the seals on your book…"

Kami… it took the kid thirty seconds to make a triple layered seal? Most respectable seal masters couldn't even do that! Also... how the hell did this kid break into his house? Nobody ever broke into his house... this kid was a freak!

"Fine, I'll pass you! Just give me back my book! It took me two years to get that edition! TWO YEARS!" Kakashi almost cried in horror.

"Swear?" Naruto's grin got wider.

"YES!" Kakashi was on his knees.

"Promise?" Naruto had a sinister look in his face.

"Yes! Yes! Just give me back my baby!"

"Fine…" The book glowed an ethereal blue before phasing into Kakashi's pocket. The sudden wight of his precious book caused the ninja's soldiers to relax as he took the book out and held it to his chest like a baby. It was quite a sight to see a grown man cradle a book like that.

Naruto didn't really stare too much however before he turned on his heels

"Ciao, see you guys for missions tomorrow!" The blonde walked off, grinning in triumph.

Kakashi stared at the boy's retreating form. "That kid is scary…"

Sasuke and Sakura could only agree, their mouths agape. Naruto had just saved their careers and outsmarted a Jonin.

It made everyone ponder one thing; who the hell was Naruto Uzumaki? And why did he suddenly start acting like this now?

Naruto yawned as he walked off, already tired.

**_"I'm proud of you Naruto. You just saved those kids futures."_**

_"Yeah, yeah. I'm glad I didn't have to release my gravity seals and fight him, he probably would have murdered me."_

**_"Wait, what gravity seals?"_**

Naruto blinked. _"…The gravity seals that I've worn since nine years old. Never took them off…"_ The beast was slack jawed. The kid was wearing gravity seals for the last three years…? The demon had completely forgotten about them.

**_"Was that your last resort?"_**

_"No, that was plan B. I still had a variety of detonation, entrapment, and chakra paralyzing seals layered in the forest... though they're a little... fatal..."_

The demon was silent. It had decided to go to sleep for one night... and then the boy did all of that. It reminded him of the old times.

**_"Naruto, if only you actually trained more often…"_** The boy laughed weakly at the demon's comment.

Little did the boy know that his activities in the past couple of days would arouse the suspicions of a few higher ups...

To be continued …

**Haha, well that was a mixed bag… again tell me what you think, your thoughts, how to improve.**

**Anyways, yeah hoped I helped to portray my message of Naruto as a true badass… a lazy badass... but a badass...also hoped the humor was up to snuff.**

**ALSO! Sorry if the descriptions seem lacking at all, they will get more prevalent in the dramatic sections of the work. I choose my bouts of complex diction carefully because it doesn't really work with my style of humor.**

**Once again, I hoped you enjoyed yourselves, and please drop a review.**

**Storm out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Sorry for my horrible use of Ellipses… yeah…_**

**_Also made some edits about Naruto's age. He's fourteen because his clone failed twice. So the clone's been living his live for five years. And no... there was no Mizuki... the clone just finally passed it._**

**_Also, the thing I should address with this story. First off, Naruto IS 100% a freaking asshole. Second, some people are questioning me about the pairings... and it got me thinking. So here's my thing. I am pretty set about the pairing on Naru/Yugi... mainly because I can do whatever I want with her, daddy issues (spoiler?), overexuberance, anything really... plus it allows me to add more into this type of fandom. That being said he'll still have other women (woman?) in his life who'll make a huge difference..._**

**_Thank Xarkun's Shadow for the Beta. He helped alot. Any grammar mistake though, blame me, it's my fault._**

Chapter 3: The Old Switcheroo

(Unknown Location)

*Splash* Ice cold water splashed onto Naruto's head, the liquid stinging his sensitive skin, waking the blonde up.

"Guh…" He started coughing as his teeth chattered. "What the hell!?" He struggled to get up, but two firm hands held him down, while his hands and feet were tied down to a chair.

"Where am I?" He blinked his eyes a few times as they got reacquainted with his environment.

"Good morning Naruto-kun." A gruff, old voice reached his ears.

"Old man?" Naruto blinked, shutting his eyes as light hit him in the eyes. "Gah! The light! It BURNS!" He hissed like a snake.

He heard a few chuckles in the room, just as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"… What the hell?" He looked around; he was in the Hokage's office… with the Hokage himself, and a few other ninja: Kakashi, that purple-haired lady with those huge knockers, and Iruka.

They were staring into his soul, judging him.

It didn't help he was in his pajamas, which consisted of a white t-shirt and boxers… with teddy bears on them.

**_"Brat, what did you do? I just went to sleep and then this shit happens!"_**

_"Hell if I know!?"_

Once again the two got into a battle of wits, however it didn't go unnoticed by the ninjas in the room, the crazy facial expressions the kid was making bewildered most of him.

"Does the kid have tourettes or something?" The Anko asked around.

"That would explain his dirty mouth…" Iruka observed worriedly.

"Hey kid?" Anko growled as she held the boy's shoulder down. "Stop making ugly faces and form a coherent sentence." Naruto looked up at the purple haired woman, disgusted from the saliva flying from her mouth.

"You didn't have to spit at my face… you already dumped water on me." He quipped.

"Actually that was me." Kakashi waved at Naruto with a bucket. This caused Naruto to blink again before he started getting a headache.

"Okay, okay just tell me what's happening. What did I do?" He asked lazily.

The room remained silent as the Hokage took a drag from his pipe.

"Well, let me see. The ninja here think you aren't the real Naruto and you killed him." There was a bit of sympathy, like he was genuinely concerned for Naruto's well-being.

This actually caused Naruto's eyes to widen. "What!? Are you actually serious?" He actually glared. "I'm as real as anyone here!"

Anko slapped the kid upside the head. "Speak to your elders with respect brat." The blow smashed into the boy's cranium, rattling his vision.

Damn. The woman could hit.

The blonde grit his teeth, as his eyes flared with anger. However, Sarutobi just sighed.

"I'll reword my question. Who are you? You're the complete opposite of the Naruto that everyone's used to. Nobody suddenly makes such a drastic shift in a day. You don't suddenly curse out everyone in the class, get the intelligence to outsmart two Jonin, abnormal physical strength, and denser chakra in one day."

The youth looked up at the old man, giving a sigh.

"Wow, I hate people so much…" The hokage remained stoic, but everyone in the room was surprised by the boy's sheer gall.

**_"Brat, I think you should tell them everything…"_**

_"But I technically broke the law…"_

**_"You were nine…"_**

_"Dammit Kurama, that'll cause more trouble than it's worth."_

**_"Naruto… this is karma for making a clone live your life for five years, live up to it. And be on your best behavior, they're accusing you of murder."_**

The blonde gave a sigh as he looked at the man. "Did Kakashi tell you I was a seal master?"

The man nodded. "A level nine supposedly…"

"Not supposedly…" The kid responded cooly. "I am." Oh boy this was gonna be hard. "Since the age of nine…"

Sarutobi blinked. "That's impossible…"

"Well I am, although the stupid barrier seals on my room weren't good enough to keep you out." Dammit, he should have updated those things... freaking video games...

"Pieces of crap…" he grumbled.

"Actually, it took quite awhile for Kakashi to break those seals." The Hokage was trying to reassure the boy.

"Still didn't do their job…" Naruto whispered softer, embarrassed.

*Twhap*

Naruto was smashed on the head again, courtesy of Anko.

"Get on with it brat, no one cares about how you feel about those seals!" Naruto looked down, growling.

Why did women have to be so annoying? Screw politeness, he didn't enjoy his head being a living rendition of whack-a-mole.

"That's it! I'm not talking until bitchymcbitchpants stops hitting me!" Everyone, even Sarutobi's eyes widened at the kids guts.

"…" The purple-haired woman glared at the boy, before pulling back her fist.

"Anko…" Sarutobi stared at the woman, taking a drag of his pipe. "Let him be." The kunoichi growled and crossed her arms, huffing. The reason she was so violent was because the boy tricked her while she was drunk, and it was a huge bruise to her ego.

"Thanks…" The youth sighed in relief. "Anyway, after I was done with mastering seals. I had an idea." He grimaced suddenly. "You see, people don't like me. Whatever I say seems to piss someone off. I guess its because I speak my mind. I don't really know. But…" He sighed. "I saw ninjas using clones, and I thought… 'if only I could just use a clone to make someone live my life… I wouldn't have to endure everyone's snide comments, endure the irritation and worry of my actual life…'" he glanced at the Hokage.

"I tried asking anybody if they would teach me the jutsu, but everyone was like 'you'll kill yourself kid, why don't you just hit a dummy and practice your taijutsu?'" He scoffed. "So I snuck into your office, borrowed… no, stole the scroll of forbidden seals..." he admitted. "Taught myself the shadow clone jutsu, and then returned it." He paused, taking a deep breath as he continued, the spectators around him listening intently.

"Then I created a clone, used seals to make him as durable as a real person, gave him a different personality, sent him out into the real world; I would pump him with chakra every night so he wouldn't pop…"

"That is until two days ago…" He paused, wondering if he should continue, but decided against it, leaving it at that.

Everyone stared at the boy in wonder. "That's ridiculous…" Iruka murmured. He was still trying to process everything; the little bright ball of sunshine that he used to know... was gone. He was merely an image conjured up to fool everyone, a facade.

Naruto just chuckled nervously at Iruka's statement, gazing back at the Hokage.

"...well." The old man shook his head. "How do I respond to that?" He sighed.

"He's not lying..." Anko admitted. This caused everyone to look at her inquisitively. "He didn't flinch, his heart beat didn't have irregularities. He just told the truth right now..." Her eyes were judging Naruto again, as she picked him apart. "He's a sociopath who's too lazy to deal with people and grow up..."

Naruto's eye was twitching at the woman's comments.

"I call 'em like I see 'em kid."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Fair enough." She smiled at the boy's irritation. They shifted their attention the the exasperated sigh of the Hokage.

"I understand that Anko... I'm just astounded..." The aged shinobi was getting a massive headache from this entire scenario. "I don't know if I should revoke the boy's ninja license because of his insubordination and deceit..." He sighed, leaving Naruto in shock.

"But..." He gazed at the boy solemnly. "Your potential can't be ignored..." Naruto brightened. "However, you also have erratic behavior ..." Naruto frowned again. "and from your earlier statement you'll be horrible in a team, especially if Kakashi's report was any indication..." Naruto was confused on what the Hokage was pondering, however; there's was some weird twinkle in his eyes that scared everybody in the room.

"I think I need to apprentice you." Everyone in the room was frozen in shock. For the Hokage to actually train somebody, that was just showing plain favoritism. Not to mention it would take his time off of managing the village.

"But Hokage-sama?" Kakashi voiced. "...Aren't you jumping the gun a bit? I mean what about tending to the village's needs..."

There was a twitch in Sarutobi's eye.

"Kakashi?"

"Yes sir..."

"I'm seventy years old..." He deadpanned. "I can't take care of Naruto, I'm just trying to not turn into an old coot who wets his bed."

The silver-haired shinobi blinked. "Then what are you implying, sir?"

"I was going to apprentice him to someone else, someone who can whip him into shape..."

Naruto heart beat was rising, finding that he suddenly needed to drink some water.

_"Crap, Kurama, help me."_

**_"No, I'm getting a kick out of seeing you sweat."_**

Naruto's eye and neck were suddenly twitching. _"... Why are we friends again?"_

**_"We're friends_****?' **The fox grinned like a little child with candy.

_"..." _Naruto cursed the fox for winning the battle of wits. However his thoughts were interrupted as everyone stared at him like he had a second head.

_"Damn facial tics."_ He sighed. "Sorry, go on." The Hokage quirked his head at the boy's antics before speaking calmly.

"Well, Kakashi suddenly brought up an interesting point, in order for you to…" He frowned, thinking. "… become more familiar with the outside world; you need to have contact with people. So you'll be on a team." Naruto frowned.

"But apparently, Kakashi also brought up the fact that you and team seven will never work. So he proposed… a switch."

Naruto blinked. "… what?" No amount of training or insight would have prepared him for such an answer.

"You'll be replacing Kiba Inuzuka on team eight, your new Jonin sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi." The Hokage stated, taking a drag from his pipe.

Kakashi nodded. "I think your potential would be better fostered with a different, more personable sensei. Kurenai will be perfect."

_"I hope his definition of perfect is the same as mine."_ Naruto hoped quietly.

"Hey, that's letting him off easy! He needs a real punishment!" Anko chimed in, annoying the blonde.

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. _"Fuck that snake woman, fuck her so hard!"_

**_"… wow, that wasn't even an innuendo..."_** Kurama was speechless.

_"Shut up!"_ Naruto cursed again, this situation was causing him to not think straight.

"No, I think we should just let him be. He's still young." The withered man replied, causing Naruto to inwardly sigh in relief.

"Thank you..." He smiled, an actual smile. He even knew the Hokage could have done so many horrible things to him.

**_"… See, I knew that would happen."_**

_"…You cannot predict the future."_

**_"I so can."_**

_"Whatever…"_

Naruto nodded. "So, does that mean you'll untie me?" Sarutobi pondered the question for a bit.

"Yes, after you tell us why your face looks like you're conversing with someone else this entire time."

Naruto's eyes widened. "_Crap…"_

**_"…I didn't predict that…" _**The fox muttered softly, quieting down.

Naruto blinked. "..." He furrowed his eyebrows as he licked his dry lips.

"Ummm..." He paused. He knew this wasn't good, but he guess he had no choice. "I'm talking with the Kyuubi..."

Everyone literally froze at that statement.

"W-what...?" Iruka asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he and I have been communicating since I was five."

Sarutobi drummed his finger and tried to calm his raging headache.

Kakashi decided to speak up. "Wait, what's the relationship between you two?" From what he understood, the boy didn't seem like a walking monster of destruction, so he might as well give the boy a chance.

"We mainly bicker alot. It's strange honestly. He's not really bloodthirsty or anything like how everyone views him. He's just... bored..."

This definitely aroused some confusion. "Bored?"

"Yeah, he's stuck in a cage all day and just observes the world through my eyes, so he entertains himself by telling me how much I suck. He was just doing it right now actually." He drawled like it was a normal thing to talk with a living being of power. "He just tells me I should stop being lazy and stop watching soap operas..." He grumbled under his breath. "Even though they are really entertaining..." It was strange, the way the blonde talked about the demon was like it was an old friend.

Iruka blinked. "Why did he attack the village?"

"He doesn't know honestly, he just remembered everything going black and him fighting the Yondaime before being sealed. He says that memory of his life is always clouded."

Sarutobi nodded. "Is he a threat to the village?"

Naruto stopped for a second, furrowing his eyebrows, wondering how to word it correctly. "Well... No, because destroying a village would do nothing for him in the end."

This caused everyone to pause in wonderment; that was definitely an unexpected answer.

Kakashi was the one to break the silence. "Let me look at his seal..." Naruto wisely chose not to make any snide comments as he walked over, bent down, and lifted the boy's shirt.

"Now channel some chakra." The blonde did so, the familiar seal appearing once again. "I see you haven't tampered with it..."

"Yeah, I'm not that stupid..."

The copy-nin chuckled before standing up. "The seal's perfect." He finished with that weird-eye smile of his. This seemed to visibly calm everyone down letting the tension in the air wither away. However Naruto was still tense...

Ropes were really uncomfortable.

"Ummm, can I be untied now?" The Hokage nodded as Anko went and untied the boy.

"Don't be stupid now, you here?" The Jonin reprimanded the boy.

"Fine, fine..." He got out of the chair, his body feeling stiff. "Oh god..." He stretched. "My back!" He popped it, instantly feeling better. He noticed their amused expressions.

"Wait, what do you want me to do now?"

Sarutobi responded simply. "Well, I'll report everything to Kurenai and in a few hours you'll meet your new team."

Naruto blinked. "Well okay." He walked back to his apartment.

*Click*

As soon as the door closed, everyone gave each other curious looks.

"Was he telling the truth Anko?" Sarutobi looked towards the interrogation expert. The woman looked to the man grimly. "Yes... but he lied about the demon's memories."

The man sighed. "Maybe we should just overlook it for now, he hasn't done anything to harm anybody..." The hokage grumbled. He was afterall, a kid.

"Except verbal abuse and physical threats!" Iruka exclaimed in, remembering the reports from the other students.

"Yes, Kurenai should help a bit with that." The man smiled.

* * *

(At the apartment...)

Naruto collapsed on the bed. "Oh my god..."

**_"Why didn't you tell them about my memories...?"_**The fox was truly curious.

_"Because the village has erased every single record of my parents. They would flip if I actually knew..." _The boy nuzzled into his pillow.

**_"I suppose."_** The demon responded, frowning for a bit. **_"Hey kid..."_**

_"Kurama, I'm tired..."_ The boy didn't want to hear any snide comment right now.

**_"Fine." _**The boy slept like a baby.

* * *

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A harsh rapping was heard from the door.

"Wha..." Naruto rubbed his eyes.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

The blonde groggily got out of bed and clicked the entrance open, hissing as the light hit his eyes again.

"Ummm... hello?" he said, slightly in pain.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" A stern voice caught the boy's attention as his vision cleared.

Round red eyes stared back, a small frown accompanying them as Naruto was looking up at a beautiful black haired woman.

"Umm... yes..."

"I'm Kurenai Yuhi, your new sensei." there was a slight edge to the woman's tone as she tapped her foot.

Naruto rubbed his eyes, and nodded. "Nice to meet you."

The woman was silent as she gazed at the boy.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You know why I'm here?" She asked curtly.

"No, I don't honestly." He saw the woman's eye twitch.

"Well, Naruto." she coughed slightly. "You kept your team waiting for an hour..." The boy blinked.

"Oh sorry..." the boy said nonchalantly.

Kurenai stared at the boy intently, before sighing. "Wow... I'm really going to have to work on you."

"...Um, sorry?" he asked bewildered.

The woman shook her head as she buried her face in her palm. "You have no sense of sympathy for other people." she stated bluntly.

Naruto furrowed his eyes. "Hey, I said sorry." The woman frowned.

"But you don't mean it." she replied simply. "You knew you were going to meet your team, yet you decided to sleep. You could have come early, you could have tried being social, but you didn't. You don't even have the respect to even look sorry." Kakashi said the kid was lackadaisical, but this was just obscene.

Naruto's eyes were wide... oh crap... this was a Jonin, one of the strongest ninja in the village and he just pissed her off.

**_"Way to go brat..." _**Naruto decided to ignore the fox .

"..." He needed to think of something fast... "Umm... is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

The woman just stared at the boy, frowning. "You can start by apologizing to your teammates." The boy inwardly grinned, he could do that tomorrow.

"Will do..." he was about to close the door, but the dreaded woman kept it open, a full scowl plastered on her face.

"Not so fast." Her fingers were drumming on the door. "You're gonna do it now. And I'm gonna walk you to their houses while you do it." Naruto's eyes widened in horror.

_"Kakashi's sense of perfect sucks!"_

**_"Oh this is rich!"_**

Kyuubi was laughing like a buffoon as he rolled on the floor.

_To be continued..._

**_A/N: and done. Sorry if it was less humorous. Okay, so now that I'm done with that mini marathon. I'm gonna start spacing the updates and try to make each chapter around five thousand words long instead of roughly 3,000._**

**_Again, tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what I could improve. I really appreciate whatever feedback you have. Even if it's a flame._**

**_Please review._**

**_Storm out._**

**_P.S.: The Yugito note didn't feel right so I took it out._**


	4. Chapter 4

Author** Note:… wow… just wow… I never expected such positive response to this story. I really am grateful for all the response, especially the criticisms that everyone is providing, I've taken it into account to write this chapter and have it flow together more smoothly while still having its humorous tone.**

**So to address a couple of things: Naruto's abilities and personality, and the direction of the story and when the pairing will come into play.**

**1) ****Yes, he is a hikkikomori with unreal talent and abilities … he has a handicap though… a MAJOR ONE that most Naruto fics haven't really explored probably at all.**

**2) T****his story will try to venture into original content and explorations as much as possible (I'm gonna add some stuff and be interesting), getting progressively more serious as time goes on. The first part of this story will focus on Naruto growing as a person… the one major canon event I'll follow is the Chunin exams… where he'll face Gaara. That'll be an awesome fight and that'll be a catalyst for a whole new bunch of crazy, awesome, action…**

**-Yes... I did take the scene from the three idiots.**

**Chapter Four: Opening up**

*Tap* Tap* Tap*

The drumming of the raven-haired beauty's fingers, and the tapping of her foot was interfering with the blonde's rationality. For the love of god, he was just taken from his bed, splashed with ice cold water, and interrogated for murder! Yet this woman didn't seem to care, spouting about some crap of how he had disrespected his teammates.

It really, really irked him, actually causing him to unintentionally ground his teeth. But he didn't lash out. No, that would be much more trouble than it was worth. His behavior was already questionable.

So once again, he let out a sigh to dispel his irritation.

"…" He looked at her calmly, scratching his head as he gave a slight bow. "...I really am sorry." There was a hint of actual regret in his voice. "Just give me a second to get changed and I'll go, apologize, and be on my best behavior from here on out…" He looked at her with wide, pleading, approval-seeking eyes.

"Hurry up." The woman's firm, unwavering expression seemed to jab away at his calmness, but he nodded and closed the door.

Then he let out a low, guttural growl.

_"… what a bitch…"_ He heard a loud snort from within his mind.

**_"I think she's good for you. She'll whip your ass into shape._**_"_

_"…Kurama?"_

**_"Yes?"_**

_"Bite me."_ He walked into his closet to put on some clothes, a look of irritation etched on his face.

**_"…I tried… it didn't work."_** It grumbled defeated.

_"Hardy, har, har..." _The blonde replied curtly as he straightened his hair in a mirror.

**_"… so how are you gonna apologize?"_**

_"I'm not…"_

**_"Wait. What?"_**

_"My clone is."_ He made a simple sign as a clone poofed before him, still as a statue. The fox shook its head as it viewed the scene.

**_"Kid, do you really think you can fool a Jonin?"_**

_"I fooled everyone for five years."_ He cracked his fingers as he took out some ink and began to draw on the clone's garb with hummingbird like speed, outfitting it with a variety of protection, invisibility, and chakra disruption seals.

The seals would be invisible to onlookers and said observers would be unable to accurately detect the clone's chakra level.

He snapped his finger as the clone fluttered its eyes, a lazy expression staring dead into Naruto's eyes, stretching before drawling out in a tired voice.

"… how much?" The clone cracked its neck, its personality much akin to the original.

"Be a little sympathetic, enough to make a good impression. To get her off my back." The blonde waved off.

"Got it." The clone nodded as Naruto snapped his fingers, the light in the room distorting as color inflection seals activated in the area, his body seeming to faze out to the world as the clone opened the door, making a splendid act to the Jonin as it followed the woman out.

The blonde waited five minutes, staying still lest the light distort around him… he needed to make sure she was gone…

He continued waiting, thankful for his efforts as the evil woman appeared, peering through the window with narrowed, observant eyes before leaving.

The youth sighed as let the seals deactivate, walking over to the wall that was etched with a variety of symbols, he began to brush his hands along the ink marks, recharging the seals with his chakra.

_"Thank god…" _He heard an aggravated sigh.

**_"Really?"_**

_"Yep."_

**_"Really?!"_**

"Yep." The blonde seemed to be unaffected by the fox's rising temper as he wiped his hands and strolled towards his bedroom.

**_"Really!"_** Its tails flared angrily in the cage. **_"Goddamit. I was hoping she would be freaking smart. Then you'd learn the meaning of consequence."_**

_"Yep."_ The blonde threw off his clothes and plopped onto his soft mattress.

**_"… are you even listening!?"_**

_"Yep."_ The blonde sighed happily as he nuzzled into the bed, his monotone answer irritating the age-old chakra being.

**_"… do you hate ramen?"_**

_"Yep."_ The fox growled at the blonde's tape recorder-like answer.

**_"Do you like gay porn!?"_** It roared in hope to get a more entertaining response from the kid. However, the blonde was too tired physically and mentally to care about mental scarring.

_"Yep." _The fox gaped, its power lost. Its one hook of influence over the insufferable teen had disappeared.

**_"You suck…"_** it grumbled, knowing that the blonde was too tired to care.

_"I know."_ The blonde closed his eyes peacefully in spite of Kurama's cries of anguish, drifting off into a dream of milk and honey.

However fate would not have it.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A soft rapping was heard at the front door.

"SWEET BUDDHA UNDER A TREE!" He jumped up, completely shaken up.

Did the woman really find out!? Impossible... his clone was still active...

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

He tried to go back to sleep, maybe the person would leave him alone.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

He nuzzled into his pillow

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

He put his head under the pillow.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

He smiled, he couldn't hear the insufferable noise anymore.

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM*

The soft knocking was now a hard smashing that resounded throughout the boy's apartment

Naruto's eye twitched as he rolled off the bed. "Dammit!" He waited some more, hopefully it would stop.

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*

Naruto cursed as he walked towards the door, opening it with his fangs bared.

"Who the hell is it!?" The blonde roared as he flung the door open, suddenly blinking in surprise at who it was. In all honesty, he had never expected these people to show up.

Sasuke and Sakura were there, there eyes wide and their mouths agape.

He couldn't tell if it was from his rash outburst or the fact that he only wore a pair of boxers at the moment.

"What'd'yah want?" Naruto quirked his head in confusion, crossing his arms as he leaned on the doorway.

Sasuke gave a deep breath as his fists clenched. "We wanted to say... thank you... and..." he looked away, a tint of pink coloring his cheeks while he visibly grinded his teeth as he opened and closed his mouth, choking on his words.

The act was kinda sad in Naruto's eyes. And even more so, it was uninteresting... in fact screw this.

"Bye." He shut the door in their face, leaving a red-faced Sasuke, and a staring Sakura.

"..." The Uchiha looked to the Pinkette. "I told he wouldn't care..." He growled out, before suddenly blinking at the pink-haired girl's state. For some reason, the girl didn't even respond to him, just staring at the door with a glazed look, a thin line of drool coming down her chin.

She was acting strange ever since Naruto yelled at her.

"... Sakura..." He waved his hand in front of the girl's face, but the glazed expression remained. "You okay...?" The girl just looked at the doorway, as if Sasuke didn't exist and Naruto was still standing there. "SAKURA!" He yelled and started shaking the girl.

The girl finally responded as the life returned back to her eyes.

"Wha?" she looked at Sasuke, her eyes widening at how close he was. "Get off me!" she roughly shoved the raven-haired youth away, causing the Uchiha to give her a weird look.

"What happened to you?" The girl... wasn't normal at the moment, especially since she just ignored him and asked her own question.

"So, what did Naruto say?" she quirked her head, wiping the drool from her mouth nonchalantly.

The Uchiha sighed irritably. "He didn't 'say' anything much. He just shut the door while you were..." His eye twitched. "Wait, what WERE you doing?"

Sakura feigned a look of innocence, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. "Me?"

"Yes..." he replied testily

"I was... just stunned... yes, stunned by his loud voice..." that was not very convincing, especially since he was the loudest individual they knew, or at least they thought they knew.

"... Why were you drooling?" he had a feeling he knew; Naruto was surprisingly fit.

"I was drooling?" Her cheeks were a smidgen more flushed as she quirked her head.

"..." He sighed. "Whatever, he doesn't want anything to do with us..." the Uchiha turned on his heels. "I'm leaving..."

"Now you wait here..." she grabbed his arm forcefully, shocking the blue-clad boy again. "Kakashi told us that Naruto asked for a reassignment because of us... don't you think we should at least make amends with him..." the girl asked hopefully.

"... Why should I?" Sasuke growled. "Sensei also told us that for the better part of five years he's been locked up in his room. Why would I want to make amends with a shut in?" he pulled his arm away from her.

"He's the reason why we passed!" she said, defending Naruto.

"He's the reason why you broke down crying and hugging a damn tree!"

She frowned. "Let's just give him a chance... we haven't been exactly nice to him either."

"What are you talking about?" he spat. "It was a clone! A copy with no heart or soul. We didn't do anything wrong. And I'M not about to say sorry to someone who freaking does whatever he wants!"

The girl had her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. It was strange, she wasn't screaming, she wasn't snarling, she wasn't doing anything. She just stared expectantly at Sasuke.

"What? I tried!" he growled. "He just shut the door! You would know if you weren't busy drooling over him."

"I wasn't drooling..." she pouted.

"Riiight and I didn't just walk with you here to apologize!"

"Sasuke, calm down."

"No! He's a dick! I tried apologizing and he just shuts the goddamn door in my face!"

"Sasuke..."

"NO! I'm not apologizing to someone just because you have a crush on him! Heck, why should I do anything for you!? You've been the worst stalker of my li-"

*Slap* A hard smack was heard as Sakura's palm connected with Sasuke's face.

Said man held his tingling cheek. "You hit me..."

The pinkette huffed. "You were being an ass..."

"... okay... whoever you are... please tell me where Sakura is?"

"Oh you know where she is."

"Where?"

*Slap*

"Ouch, ouch fine! Geez!" The Uchiha gave a deep breath... "... what do you want me to do?"

"You could apologize?" She offered, until she saw the blank stare of his. "You know what, let me just apologize for you."

He just nodded, as Sakura shook her head and pounded her fist against the door.

"COMING DAMMIT!" a few seconds later the blonde opened the door. "What do you want?" he growled, his eye twitching... still only in his boxers.

"Ummm..." she coughed as she averted her eyes to the side. "Well, again and we came here to say thank you and apologize." It sounded rather lame, and a bit too formal... but she really didn't know how to address the boy.

"..." Naruto's eye twitched. "Are you being serious?"

Sakura looked away, embarrassed. "Ummm... yes..."

"What do you want?" he asked rather rudely.

"... I'm sorry?" Sakura blinked.

Naruto sighed. "You hate me and I hate you. Last time I checked you wouldn't even give me the time of day. So there's one of two options, you were dared and or blackmailed to do this, or you want something from me. Since I doubt it's the former, what do you want? Seriously, I just want both of you guys to leave me alone." he pulled out a water bottle and started drinking it.

Sakura started twiddling her fingers, her face contorted into one of defeat.

"Do you think that lowly of me?" This caused Naruto's neck to twitch.

"Well I can safely say I don't think good of you."

"Really...?" there was a sad tinge to her voice, almost as if she was crying. She looked like a little girl who just lost her favorite teddy bear.

"..." Naruto blinked. "Wait a second! Don't you go soft on me!" his voice rose. "Why are you sad?"

"..." she hung her head down. "Nothing... just kinda hoping we could be friends... despite not being teammates anymore..." she pulled out a napkin and blew her nose. "But I guess you hate my and Sasuke's guts..."

Naruto froze, his jaw agape. "Whoa, whoa whoa..." he held his hands out. "Don't you cry on me now!" He hated it when people cried. It made him feel like an ass. Hell, he knew he was an ass, but he didn't like _feeling_ like one.

"... But you used to like me... now you hate me..." she choked on her words. "I'm a bitch..." Tears were starting to form out of her eyes.

Naruto looked left and right in a panic. "Hey you!" he pointed at Sasuke. "What'd you do!? Did you bring her here...?"

Sasuke held his hands up. "Don't look at me! I'd rather just not talk to you." he said bluntly. "She brought me here against my will!"

Naruto sighed as he looked at the bubble-gum haired girl. "Are you actually sorry?" he asked in genuine wonderment.

"I am," she nodded. "I really am..."

The boy held the bridge of his nose."Then please leave. I promise not to upset you again. Just please leave..." The girl frowned as she looked up at him, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Hey!" Naruto spat. "I don't want any friends. Especially you and Mr. Dark and Shady over there." Needless to say, Sasuke had a disgusted look on his face.

"Wait a second! What'd I do?" He marched up indignantly to the blonde.

"You can't freaking apologize! Asswipe!" Naruto started imitating the boy earlier, but adding choking sounds with his throat. "Oh... thank you... but you're not important enough for me..." The boy finished his imitation, scoffing in distaste.

Sasuke's face contorted into a snarl. "At least I talk to people on a regular basis! Noodle-brain!" he poked back.

Naruto snorted. "Grunting isn't talking... but hey I guess an intellectual conversation is incapable for someone like you." the blonde shrugged.

"Are you implying I'm dumb?" Sasuke clenched his fist.

"Oh I'm sorry!" He had a look a shock on his face. "Give me a moment." he went into his room for a few seconds, causing the onlookers to blink as they heard him rummage through a few things before coming back with a light bulb.

"You see this?" The blonde pointed to the utility.

"Yes?"

"Now..." he violently smashed it on the door, the shards and the bulb itself falling to the ground. "See how it's broken?"

"What's your point!?"

"STILL FUCKING BRIGHTER!" he spit in the boy's face, causing him to ball his fist at the blonde.

"You blonde-haired, round-eyed, jackass!" Sasuke pulled his fist to hit the blonde.

"Stop fighting!" Both boys had their head smashed in, courtesy of an irritated Sakura. "Why can't we just get along!" Naruto rubbed his head as he looked at her, oh boy did she just make him angry.

_"Sorry my ass!" _He bared his fangs. But stopped for a moment as he heard a sigh from within the depths of his mind.

_**"Kid..."**_

_"What?"_

_**"You're acting like you're five...**__**"**_

_"Why do you care..."_

**_"Because a five year old only cries and whines about how much their life sucks instead of making the best out of the situation... you should learn how to do that... and you should start now..."_**

_"I'll do it later."_

_**"NOW!" **_The beast roared, its cage rattling as a entire tsunami of chakra blasted within its depths, it's chest heaving up and down from its outburst.

The blonde eyes widened from the beast's outburst. "W_ill you calm down if I do...?"_ He heard the beast growl.

**_"For now, yes..."_**

_"Fine..."_ The blonde looked at the two, who were blinking at the facial expressions he had made in contact with Kurama.

"You know... maybe..." he grit his teeth, swallowing his pride. "I've been too much of a dick..." the two blinked in surprise, causing the blonde to give an irritated sigh.

"Okay, a HUGE dick. But how about we just start anew. Forget all the crap we've done to eachother." he shrugged as he held out his hand. "... maybe we can be friends..."

The two just stared like he had grown a second head. That was a big shift in just a few seconds.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "... wait, what?" he stared at the blonde.

"Okay fine." the blonde groaned. "I'm sorry. Happy now? Now shake my freaking hand and leave!" The Uchiha stared at him hesitantly for what seemed like hours before slowly shaking the tanned-boy's hand.

"... ummm... bye..." the Uchiha vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto alone with Sakura.

The blonde looked at the girl awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry..." He repeated again lamely.

The girl blushed as she held her hands behind her back. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you and Sasuke... I just didn't know how to stop you tw-" The blonde waved her off.

"Mah, mah. You did what you had to. Don't worry about it." He shrugged. "Maybe later... we could hang out some time. Possibly get some coffee?"He had seen that happen a lot on the soap-operas he watched... it sounded like a good idea... though he never had coffee...

Sakura put her finger to her chin. "That... sounds like a good idea..." she smiled, as she approached the blonde, suddenly giving him a light hug. "Again.. I'm really sorry..." she whispered.

The blonde stiffened, never really being hugged. "Umm, yeah..." he patted her back. "Don't worry about it..."

The girl pulled away softly before nodding.

"See yah." she brushed her hair behind her ear. It was kinda, dare he say, effective...

"Y-yeah, bye." He stammered.

The girl waved as she walked off, walking off downstairs as Naruto sighed.

"... That wasn't so bad..." he blinked, that actually felt kinda good.

"There may be hope for you yet." A hearty laugh suddenly shook the blonde up as he looked to the side.

"What the hell! Where'd you come from!?" He saw the laughing form of a silver haired-man, arm crossed while lazily leaning against the wall.

"Nice to see you too Naruto!" The man eye-smiled.

"Wh-what are you doing here...?"

"Well, I was gonna tell you that Kurenai saw through your clone disguise and promptly told me, 'I can't work with an insufferable brat who doesn't want to be helped'... and tell you that you would be sent back to the academy because of your deceit..." He quirked his head. "But after seeing that, and hearing what Iruka told me. There may be some hope yet."

Naruto scratched his head, his mouth agape in shock. "... what?"

"I'm saying that I can actually see you working in team seven now..." There was a tinge of mirth in the man's voice.

"Wait... I'm with team seven again?" Naruto blinked.

"Well considering the statement Kurenai said... yes." Kakashi summarized.

"...Ummm..." Naruto blinked... unsure of what to say. "I guess that's fine..."

The man nodded. "So what happened?"

Naruto quirked his head. "What, what happened?"

Kakashi blinked. "I mean, what happened to you. From what Iruka told me... even before you made that doppelganger... you used to be the brightest, most enthusiastic, funny student he ever met." he paused, clearing his throat. "Even though you had a problem with authority..."

Naruto frowned. "I was never like that at the academy..."

"Oh yes you were. In fact, I remember when that teacher came running in and talking to the Hokage about a student who completely criticized the way he taught."

"Really? I don't think so..." Naruto shook his head. "I never did anything like that."

Kakashi quirked his head. "Then tell me what this story is about."

_(Six years ago...)_

It was a normal day in the academy, and it was the certain day that Iruka Umino had decided to assist in hopes of teaching a future generations of younger students. It was just the start of the new day, and he was listening to the teacher give a lecture about science.

"Now class as a ninja, you know, you must be knowledgeable in a variety of subjects. So today we'll be studying a machine. What is a machine?" The professor stopped as he saw a certain student smiling enthusiastically. "You! Why are you smiling?" He narrowed his eyes... it was the Kyuubi brat...

A blonde boy blinked, "Umm, sorry sir. I just like learning about anything that has to do with science. I've always been interested in how everything works together, especially machines."

The teacher nodded. "Very well, would you be willing to explain what a machine is to the class my boy?"

Naruto flashed a brilliant smile as he stood up. "Of course! A machine is anything that reduces human effort!" There was a sparkle in his eyes as he spoke.

The teacher seemed unimpressed. "Will you please elaborate?"

The blonde put his finger to his chin thoughtfully before speaking. "Well... Sir, anything that simplifies work or saves time, is a machine." he summarized. "It's a warm day, press a button, get a blast of air. The fan. A machine!" he held his arms out in a self-expressive manner. "Speak to a friend miles away. The telephone. A machine! Compute millions in seconds. The calculator. A machine!" It was strange, there was a certain charisma to the boy's tone, it actually caused his fellow students to be memorized. "Sir, we're surrounded by machines. A pen is a machine..." the blonde suddenly pointed at his pants. "Even my zipper is a machine! See! Up and down in a second. Up, down, up, down…" The blonde boy started zipping and unzipping his pants, causing the class of kids to burst out laughing.

The teacher narrowed his eyes, unamused before he spoke sternly. "I want a definition."

Naruto seemed to shrink in surprise from the teacher's tone... why did he always get yelled at? "But sir... I just gave a definition..."

The professor laughed. "You'll write this in the exam?" their was a sarcastic tone to his voice as he mocked the student. "This is a machine- up, down, up, down…" the man stopped before waving the boy off. "Idiot! Anybody else?"

A young girl stood up. "Sir, machines are any combination of bodies so connected that their relative motions are constrained. And by which means force and motion may be transmitted and modified as the screw and its nut or a lever range turn about a fulcrum, or a pulley and its pivot etc. esp a construction more or less complex consisting of a combination of moving parts or simple mechanical elements as wheels, levers, cams etc. with their supports and connecting framework, calculated to constitute a prime mover, or to receive force and motion from a prime mover or from another machine, and transmit, modify, and apply them to the production of some desired mechanical effect or work, as weaving by a loom, or the excitation of electricity by an electrical machine."

The Chunin smiled in affirmation. "You did your reading! Wonderful! Perfect. Please sit down." He gestured to the girl.

"Thank you." the girl beamed from the teacher's approval.

"But Sir..." Naruto spoke up. "I said the same thing in simple language."

The teacher snorted. "If you prefer simple language, become an artist."

Naruto's eyes flashed with defiance. "But sir, one must get the meaning too. What's the point of blindly cramming a bookish definition?" He frowned.

The teacher growled. "You think you're smarter than the book? Write the textbook definition, mister, if you want to pass."

Naruto began again. "But there are other books…"

The adult yelled at the boy. "Be argumentative will you! Get out!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "But... why..." there was a sense of defeat in his voice.

The man glared. "In simple language- Out! Idiot!" he pointed towards the door, glaring at the blonde.

Naruto hung his head as he walked towards the door.

_"... why does everyone always shout at me... why..."_ The boy was on the verge of tears as he continued his trek, but stopped clenching his fist. _"I'll show him..."_

Naruto turned on his heels, treading towards his deck.

The teacher glared. "Why are you coming back?"

Naruto beamed brightly. "I forgot to take something!"

The teacher sighed. "What?" The boy looked at him for a second, his entire demeanor shifting into one of apathy as his voice drawled on like a robot.

"Instruments that record, analyze, summarize, organize, debate and explain information; which are illustrative, non-illustrative, hardbound, paperback, jacketed, non-jacketed, with foreword, introduction, table of contents, and index that are intended for the enlightenment, understanding, enrichment, enhancement, and education of the human brain through sensory route of vision… sometimes touch."

The entire class stood with their eyes wide and their mouth agape... the teacher blinking as he scratched his head. "What?"

"Books. I forgot to take my books. May I?" The blonde gestured towards the stack on his desk.

The man stared dumbly. "Couldn't you ask simply?"

The blonde smiled. "I tried simply, Sir. It simply didn't work." The man's eyes widened in shock as the entire class laughed.

* * *

Kakashi smiled at the story. "I don't even think I was like that at my age... and I was a prodigy. What happened to make you so... withdrawn?"

The blonde was looking down at the floor, unable to meet the man's eyes. "I grew up..." he whispered.

The silver-haired ninja frowned. "Maybe we can talk about it later?"

"Later sounds good..." The blonde sighed. "What time are we meeting tomorrow...?" his voice was monotone.

The man frowned. This kid had some dark shadows. "How about two'o'clock...?" The blonde smiled weakly.

"Sounds like a plan." he walked into his apartment.

_**To be continued...**_

_**So... I tried to make this story more serious and perhaps make Naruto's character a little more complex... hopefully I did that. And hopefully you liked the flashback scene.**_

_**Again, at the beginning this story won't have as much action as a person'd like... however the action scenes will be... intense...**_

_**Hopefully, I made the characters believable and showed a different depth to the story besides the crackish humor. I'd like to think that nodbody be upset by this chapter... but hey... someone probably will.**_

_**Please tell me what you thought in a review.  
**_

_**If you have any questions please ask, Storm out.**_


	5. Chapter 5

**_Note:… I am not happy with this chapter; it kept on fighting and biting me to get it out. Alas, hopefully you enjoy it. Though I'm gonna tell you, alot of you won't like this chapter because of the ending... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA (cough) HAHAHA (hack) HAHA (GUH!) oh screw it...  
_**

**_Chapter Five: Manning Up  
_**

(Six Year ago)

The village of Konoha quieted down, the usual life and joy of the area leaving as it surrendered to the beauty of the sunset, it's red-orange glow seeming to soothe everything within its bask.

However, a young boy sat on the swing set, tears rolling down his cheeks from the misery within his heart.

"Why does everyone yell at me…?" His lip quivered as his head hung down, his blonde strands masking his eyes. "I try hard in class, I'm polite… usually," he admitted, wiping his eyes. "And…" His voice quieted as more tears flowed.

"Naruto?" A familiar voice alerted the boy's senses as he felt a warm hand on shoulder.

"Y-Yuna?" the boy looked up to see warm brown eyes looking into his own.

"What's wrong?" The woman settled down in front of the boy, her wondering gaze inspecting the boy. The young, eighteen-year old girl was quite beautiful by most standards. There wasn't anything fake about her, no lipstick, no makeup, just almond-shaped eyes adorning an angelic face. She didn't even wear anything to accentuate her luscious curves, preferring a simple sweater and Khaki pants.

"…" Naruto remained quiet. "Why are you here…?" He spoke softly.

The girl smiled in response. "You didn't show up to the library today…"

"Well, I didn't feel like studying integration by parts…" He pouted.

"That's not true." She spoke tenderly. "You love calculus. I have to wrestle the book away from you so you can go home and sleep."

"It's boring…." He responded curtly, looking away. "…Doesn't do anything meaningful anyways."

The girl sighed as she cupped the boy's chin. "Naruto, please tell me what's wrong. This isn't like you."

The boy bit his lip, opening and closing his mouth, but unable to speak.

"Teacher yelling at you again…?" There was a hint of disgust in her voice.

"…" Naruto just nodded.

"You want to know why?' She offered as she quirked her head, her beautiful hair hanging delicately.

"W-why…?" He choked.

"Because you're the most intelligent, driven, assertive young man he has ever met." She started stroking his blonde hair. "And he's jealous 'cause he isn't as awesometacular as you…"

The blonde chuckled weakly. "That's not even a word, Yuna…"

"It's a word, Naruto."

"Y-yeah," he wiped his tears. "Says who."

"Says me." She ruffled his hair.

* * *

The youth woke up with a start, his chest heaving as a cold sweat drenched his form.

"… damn it…" his hand caressed his head. "Damn it, damn it, damn it…"

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

He smashed his alarm clock, the infernal noise silencing.

"Why am I dreaming again…?" his voice was timid. "Why…" he heard a familiar voice boom in his head.

**_"Naruto, what's wrong?" _**The great beast felt the boy's distress.

_"Nothing Kurama… nothing at all."_

**_"… You're shaking…"_**

_"… Just drop it." _ His voice rose a bit in anger.

**_"Fine…"_** The boy sighed as he looked at his alarm clock.

"Damn… I'm going to be late." He growled in frustration as he jumped out of his bed.

* * *

(One hour later)

Naruto's eye was twitching, almost uncontrollably so, whilst his teammates jaws were agape and their eyes wide open as they looked at the smiling form of Kakashi.

There was an eerie silence that permeated the air as the two sides looked at one another.

"Wait..." Naruto began, his fists clenching. "You actually signed me, JUST ME, up for a fight!" Naruto wailed, his teeth gritting in irritation.

"Yeah!" Sasuke growled in irritation, though for different reasons. "Why him!?" he pointed towards Naruto.

"I agree! Again! Why me!?"" Naruto pointed to himself inquisitively, horror stricken on his face.

Kakashi quirked his head, doing that weird upside-down-U like smile of his. "You know, that's an excellent question."

* * *

(Five minutes earlier)

It was a beautiful day in the city of Konaha: birds were chirping, bees were buzzing, kids were playing. It was a scene of serenity and mirth. It was a scene where someone could just lay his head down and bask in the warmth of the sun. It was also a day to enjoy a good book.

Speaking of good books...

"Oh Himiko, I would treat you with all of the love a man could give." Kakashi whispered softly as he read his book, walking through the streets. It was quite an odd scene, he didn't look up from his novel at all yet he just walked around the incoming crowd like he had a mind's eye, shifting and dodging any person, cart, or animal that came by.

Yet fate would not let him enjoy the wonders of his story.

"KAKASHI! MY HIP RIVAL!"

Kakashi sighed as he closed his book. "Hey Gai." He turned around to see the blinding white smile of his green-spandex wearing friend.

"How are you doing this wonderful afternoon!?"

"I'm doing moderately well, just going to see my team." He said nonchalantly.

Gai blanched at this. "What! You actually took some young cubs under your wing! Impossible!" He pointed at his friend. "You hate teaching!"

Kakashi sweatdropped. "Umm, yes, well they're..." he paused as he searched for the right word. "...special."

Gai was still shocked. "Their flames of determination and teamwork must burn brighter than the scorching rays of a thousand suns!"

The silver-haired shinobi honestly had trouble trying to respond to that statement. "... that's a unique way of putting it."

"Well, who are these fine young lads of yours?"

"Oh, well their names are Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ahh, the Uchiha..." Gai nodded, grinning. "I see why you passed them. I heard his potential and drive are outstanding."

"Actually..." Kakashi shook his head. "Wait, never mind." He didn't want to get into the story about Naruto. That would take much too long.

"Then my rival! I have another challenge for you!"

_"Oh dear god! Not again!" _Kakashi shook his head. "No..." He turned on his heels and started treading away.

"Your feigned indifference is as dangerous as a lion falling asleep in front of a tiger!" Gai bawled his fist in feigned anger.

Kakashi just walked on, ignoring the man lest he go onto another on of his rants. Said man started sweating, this was his chance to help out one of his students.

"Kakashi! Please! It's a request!"

The Jonin was almost out of earshot, but Gai shushined before him.

"Kakashi!" The silver-haired nin was buried in his book before he looked up.

"Hmm, you say something?" The cyclops asked lazily.

"..." Gai tried to remain unfazed by his friend's aloofness. "I need to make a request, since the Uchiha is on your team."

The masked-nin sighed again before closing his book and palming his face. "You have fourty-five seconds."

"Thank you Kakashi!" he waved. "Your fruits of generosity are tastier than the juiciest of apples."

Kakashi was looking at his watch. _"Thirty-eight seconds..."_

"From what I understand, wait my rival! Are you paying attention!?" He asked, his face flushed in slight irritation.

"Twenty-nine seconds..." Kakashi tapped his watch.

"Oh wait, wait! I have something important to say! I need much more than that alloted time!"

"Twenty-two seconds..." His voice was monotone in face of his hot-headed friend.

"Kakashi! Surely, you have more fruit to give!"

The man stretched his neck. "Nineteen-seconds..."

"Kakashi! I am not like the fast cheetah that zooms without any thought! I am the tortoise that edges closer slowly, thoughtfully! I need more time!" Gai exclaimed, flailing his arms wildly.

"Eight seconds..." he eye-smiled.

"Fine, fine, fine! I need the Uchiha to duel one of my students!"

Kakashi stopped his clock, looking at it intently before smiling. "Wow! That's a new record Gai! Two seconds to spare!"

Gai flailed his arms more wildly, his face red in irritation. "Curse you and your hip att-!"

"Mah, mah. Relax! Loosen up!." He waved him off. "So which student is this?"

"His name... is Rock Lee." Gai said, his chest heaving.

"Oh! Mini-you!" Kakashi chimed.

"His flames of youth burn just as brightly as mine! There is nothing shameful about that!" Gai responded indignantly, his breath finally calming.

"..." Kakashi crossed his arms in a thoughtful manner. "Okay... so why does he want to go against Sasuke?"

"He wishes to test the fruits of his training against the best, and the Uchiha's reputation certainly deserves that merit."

Kakashi tapped his thumb against his chin. "Well, okay... but he needs to fight the Uzumaki first. If he beats him and still has energy, he can fight Sasuke."

Gai blinked. "But Kakashi, from what I heard that kid is a slacker! What are you thinking!?"

The silver-haired ninja chuckled. "I'm thinking about how interesting it will be for my student to fight against a combat specialist."

Gai shrugged. "Well, okay. Lee's fists of righteousness will be flying unrestrained. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Mah, mah. He'll be fine. So... when do you want to meet?" he waved him off again.

* * *

Naruto balled his fist. "Really! He freaking wanted to fight Sasuke! Come on!"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah! What he said!"

Kakashi shook his head. "I already have an idea of what you are capable of Sasuke, but I still have no clue of what Naruto can do..."

The Uchiha stopped thoughtfully. "You know... I'm interested too."

Naruto blanched. "You can't be serious! Come on!" He looked to Sakura. "You're on my side aren't you?"

Sakura blushed as she looked down. "Well, I can't say I'm not interested how you are in a fight..." she whispered softly.

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms. "... No, I'm not doing it. I don't care what you say, I'm not fighting."

The cyclops smiled. "That's why I'll buy you steak if you do it."

Naruto froze... "Wait..." His eyes widened as he looked at the man with pleading eyes. "What type of steak?"

"A medium-rare 16oz Ribeye with mashed potatoes, sweet carrots, and calamari on the side..."

Naruto was salivating. "... Sweet mother of god..." he shook his head. "Umm, I mean... that's nice and all, but no."

"It'll be at the best bar in town."

Naruto blinked. "Wait. Your gonna take me drinking too?"

The silver-haired ninja nodded. "Well, you're considered an adult now, so it'll be a good experience. Plus, it'll be a chance for some much needed student-sensei bonding time."

"... That's really appealing..." who was he kidding, it sounded like the best smorgasbord of his life. "But..."

"They have the most amazing bloody mary you will ever taste in your life. It uses actual blood... pig's blood of course."

Naruto looked into the sky dreamily. "That sounds so weird, but so good! Fine! I'll do it!' Kakashi smiled.

"Hey!" Sasuke interceded. "What about me!?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I'll take you too." Sasuke smirked.

"Good."

Sakura had a tick on her forehead. "Wait! What about me!"

The Jonin smiled. "I didn't forget about you Sakura. Here." he handed her a card.

She blinked. "What is-OH MY GOD!" She squealed like a little girl as she got a good look at it. "A coupon to Konoha's beauty salon!" the pinkette glomped him. "Thank you so much!" she looked at the card, horror suddenly stiking her face. "Today's the last day!" she wailed as she jumped up and down.  
"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!" she looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Yes, go knock yourself out!" he laughed as he padded her head.

She squealed as she ran off.

"Wow..." Both Naruto and Sasuke said in unison, they looked at one another. "That was weird." they said together again.

"..." Their eyes twitched together as they let out a simultaneous growl. "Stop that!" They pointed at eachother.

"No you!" They were fuming, red faced in annoyance.

"GAH!" They let out simultaneous groans of annoyance as their Sensei looked at them

"As amusing as this is, I have to do some business. Meet at training ground twenty-eight in an hour and a half." the boys nodded as their teacher vanished in a swirl of leaves.

They were left alone, a deep tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"So..." Sasuke drawled. "Can you fight?"

Naruto looked back at him. "I don't know..."

Sasuke blanched. "What do you mean you don't know!?"

"I don't know! He growled. "I've never been in a fight before!"

Sasuke blinked... oh he forgot he was a shut-in. "... not even with those weird clones of yours?"

Naruto shrugged. "Well kinda... I mean.." he shook his head. "Wait! I don't need to talk to you! I don't even like you!" he pointed at him accusingly.

Sasuke scowled. "Well I don't like you either!"

"Well good!"

"Good!"

They glared at eachother before walking in opposite directions, their chests puffed out.

_**"Kid?"**_ The familiar voice of the fox boomed in Naruto's head as he walked on into the forest.

_"I'm fucked!"_

**_"Well, for the lack of the better word, yes."_**

_"... wow. No words of encouragement? No advice? You're just going to criticize me?" _

_**"The best thing I can tell you is to try using the next hour to get used to not wearing those ****gravity seals."**_

Naruto stopped, palming his face. _"Oh yeah. That seems like a good idea."_

**_"How the hell did you master seals in three months again?"_**

_"Kurama?"_

**_"Yes, you adolescent worm?"_**

_"... you're a second derivative of velocity."_

**_"What the heck does that mean!?"_**

_"I insulted you using Calculus! Bitch!"_

**_"... nerd..."_  
**

Naruto's eye twitched; he had got him. However, he would be damned if the fox had the last word.

_"At least I don't have rabbit ears."_

**_"FUCK Y-!"_ **The connection was cut off.

* * *

(An hour and a half later...)

Sasuke was kinda glad he wasn't going up first against this Genin anymore... he was pretty weird.

"YOSH LEE! THE FLAMES OF YOUR PASSION AND DETERMINATION WILL BE TESTED TODAY!" Seriously, the Uchiha shook his head... what the heck?

"YOSH GAI-SENSEI! I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU! IF I DO! I WILL RUN THIRTY LAPS AROUND KONOHA!" The younger version of the man eyes were alit with a fervent flame. "ON MY HANDS!" ... Sasuke's eye twitched... what the heck?

"LEE!" The man opened his arms in a masculine gesture.

"GAI-SENSEI!" The youth opened his arms in a similar fashion.

"LEE!" He started running towards his student, his arms opened wide.

"GAI-SENSEI!" The Genin ran back as a sunset began to gleam in the back ground. The two men seemed to run in slow motion finally meeting in a burning bright hug of sheer manliness.

The sun seemed to shine brighter, bathing them in red-orange glow that shined out everything else from vision, just highlighting their masculine student-teacher bond.

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror. _"OH GOD!"_ He looked to Kakashi, his face in shock.

Said man had pulled out a bag of popcorn from somewhere, god only knows, and was munching on it, the bits of food seeming to pass through his mask, as if it wasn't there, and right into his mouth.

"Really!" The Uchiha pointed at him.

The Jonin looked at him inquisitively, offering the bag in a kind gesture. "Want some?"

"NO!... I mean yes I would..." He took a handful and popped some into his mouth, it was packed full of buttery popcorn awesomeness. "Mmmm, wait! Why do you have popcorn?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Hopefully it will be a good show."

Sasuke was still trying to look away from the creepy duo and decided to further prod the man for more answers.

"Where's Sakura?"

"Oh she's getting the full treatment at the spa, she's probably gone for today."

Sasuke blinked. "But I thought she wanted to see Naruto fight?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, a woman loves to be pampered beyond all else. You probably don't understand now, but you will in due time."

Sasuke looked at his sensei like he had grown a second head. "... probably not." the raven-haired prodigy looked around. "Wait, where's Naruto?"

On cue, they heard a groan as the young blonde walked into sight. It was strange, he was covered in dirt, his hair matted down with sweat, while a variety of scratches and cuts were visible on his face, there was even a slight swelling of his right cheek.

"Hey..." He moaned as he trudged toward them, exhaustion evident in his voice.

The two were shocked at the blonde's state, stunned into silence for a few moments before Kakashi spoke up.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" The blonde looked at the man with a tired blue orb.

"I got lost on the road of life, then I was ambushed by a couple of thugs."

Kakashi blinked and stared at the boy for a few seconds.

"..."

"..." Naruto defiantly stared back.

"..."

"Touche." The man smiled at the boy whilst Sasuke growled.

"Seriously, what did you do Naruto?" The blonde snorted.

"I was training."

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "No idiot would train themselves right before a fight..."

Naruto shrugged. "Guess my name's 'no idiot' then." Sasuke just shook his head, this wouldn't end well.

Kakashi looked at his student worriedly. "You sure you can fight?"

Naruto looked at him, standing up straight as he cracked his neck, before dusting himself off. "I can do anything for great food." He directed a finger at his silver-haired teacher. "But you better not be cheating on me."

Kakashi chuckled. "Okay, show me what you got." His teacher nodded whilst Sasuke took a handful of popcorn in anticipation for the fight.

Naruto stared at the bag. "Wow, you guys suck..." he grumbled as Kakashi offered him the bag.

"Want some?" Naruto shook his head.

"No, I'm good."

The crazy teacher and student duo were suddenly looking at them expectantly. Needless to say Naruto sighed as he walked out into the middle of the training field, Rock Lee following in accordance as they stood opposite and away from eachother. Gai was standing in the middle so he could proctor the match.

"Yosh! Uzumaki-san! May we have a great fight!" The eager, bowl-headed teen smiled and bowed. Despite his cheery attitude, Gai told Lee to take it easy on the blonde, so the green-spandex wearing youth honestly didn't expect much.

"..." The orange-wearing Genin just nodded.

"You young lions ready!?" Both Genin got into a fighting stance; Lee settled into the strong fist style while Naruto settled into a basic academy style.

"HAJIM-!"

All people saw was a flurry of motion as Naruto's fist suddenly planted itself into Lee's face. Before the martial-artist could even process what happened, Naruto turned on his heel, adding force to the blow as Lee was knocked off his feet. And it didn't stop there; even before the boy could fall the blonde turned on his heel again and smashed his foot into Lee's gut, causing the boy to have the air knocked out of him as he was sent skidding away several feet.

"..." Naruto blinked as he saw the boy's form slide on the ground, dust and debris being knocked into the air. "Did that actually work?"

Everyone just stared, their mouths agape.

_"His speed, unbelievable!"_ Gai had gravely underestimated the boy.

_"Now this is interesting..." _Kakashi munched on his popcorn excitedly.

_"Never fought my ass!"_ Bits of popcorn fell out of Sasuke's shocked-open mouth.

Lee coughed a bit as he caressed his face, his cheek swelling from the hammer-like blow. "I... didn't expect that Naruto-san." the boy winced as he held his aching stomach.

"I can honestly say I didn't either." Naruto was still shocked he caught the boy off guard like that, he had heard he was an insanely talented taijutsu specialist.

However, he was cut out of his musings as his opponent looked towards his teacher.

"Gai-sensei?" The boy had a questioning look.

"Yes Lee! You can go all out. Just don't use _that_."

"Yosh!" The teen pulled off his orange leg warmers, showing a set of weights.

"... That doesn't seem so bad." the whiskered-face boy whispered, relieved.

The bowl-haired martial artist threw the weights to the side.

*SMASH!* Two mini craters formed where the items were thrown.

"Ahh, so much better!" Lee grinned.

"Fuck." The blonde only blinked for a second as Lee covered the distance between them, his fist drawn back. It was only thanks to the blonde's quick wit that he was able to swerve his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow. Lee's experience vastly dwarfed Naruto's own however as he planted his other fist in the soft spot between the boy's ribs, successfully knocking the air out. The black-haired boy didn't let up, continually pounding away at the blonde youth.

After the first several punches, the blonde grit his teeth and grabbed his opponent's fists, stopping him in his tracks as he headbutted him in the nose, blasting back the boy's head as Naruto kicked him away again, flipping backwards as he got some distance away from him.

_"Damn... he hits hard..."_ He shook his head, he could only think what would have happened if he didn't use two hundred clones to run through taijutsu katas and get used to his speed. _"... and he's a tad bit faster too..."_

Lee flipped in the air, landing on his feet as he went for another frontal assault, dust kicking in the air as he went full throttle. Naruto was able to pick up his movements and launched forward, his fist drawn back. The two engaged in a flurry of fists and will, dust and debris kicking into the air as the two seemed to faze in and faze out of reality to the untrained eye. Naruto was surprisingly able to hold his own, barely. For every punch he landed, Lee landed dozens more.

But suddenly the green clad boy disappeared before his eyes...

"Wha-?" A powerful kick smashed into Naruto's chin, ricocheting him into the air as he flew dozens and dozens of feet aloft. "The hell..." His mind was still fuzzy from the blow, and he suddenly noticed Lee fazing behind him, the bandages on his arm unwrapping as they started to bind him.

"Sorry Naruto-san, but I must end this quickly so I can face the Uchiha." The wrappings held tight, bounding the blonde's movement. "You are a great opponent."

Gai watched the scene in horror. "Lee! No! That's too much!" He started leaping to stop them.

Naruto felt the world spin as his body rotated in mid-air.

"PRIMARY LOTUS!" A giant tornado seemed to form in mid-air, spiraling down towards the earth in anger.

_"No! I won't make it in time!" _Gai felt true dread spread throughout him as he futilely sped towards the two.

*BOOM!*

Right before the technique hit the ground, it exploded in mid-air, a giant cloud of smoke forming as Lee was blasted away, his form smashing into a tree.

"Guh!" Pain wracked his body as he struggled to open his eyes, and what he saw utterly surprised him.

Orange... a field of orange was all he could see as his vision cleared.

"You jerk! Your flashy technique almost killed me!" A brash voice reached Lee's ears as his vision finally cleared.

Naruto had made solid copies of himself to break out of Lee's bandages. He hadn't made just a couple either. There was a field of clones, at least a couple hundred, all stretching and pounding their fists.

The sheer skill suddenly displayed by the boy left Gai speechless.

"Now..." The original cracked his neck. "Let's do round two." The clones rushed the taijutsu-specialist at breakneck speeds .

Lee was able to gather his wits and pushed his body to the limits, jumping away from a clone that tackled a tree.

"Yosh!" He grinned, suddenly not caring about Sasuke anymore. This boy was better than anything he could have hoped for. "Your flames of youth burn brightly!" He dodged another two clones that attacked from the front and back, jumping up as they smashed into eachother, poofing into smoke.

Naruto grinned, Lee was airborne. "Got you!" a clone suddenly grabbed Naruto and twirled him around before throwing him at the Genin. The boy became a human projectile as his head smashed into the Lee's chest, sending him flying into the ground again. Lee seemed to recover though, his adrenaline high exciting him as he flipped and landed on the ground again, using it as a springboard to jump and attack Naruto mid-flight.

Instead of dawning shock, the youth grinned as the air warped around him whilst he thrust his leg to the side, hitting an invisible, solid surface as he got away from Lee's path of attack, flipping and landing afar.

He grunted. "You're good..." The clones kept up their guard as they watched the taijutsu specialist huff and puff as he landed on his feet again, wary as he looked around.

"Thank you, but Naruto-san... what was that technique you just used?" Sweat was pouring down the teen's brow.

The amount of sweat was nothing compared to the waves that dripped down Naruto's face. "Air-grasping. I basically use my chakra to gather molecules beneath my feet, solidifying the air so I can use it as a springboard." He summarized, letting out a sigh of air. "...drains my chakra too much if I abuse it though..."

The entire audience had their eyes wide, unable to believe the blonde's abilities. He just kept on surprising them.

"I've never heard of such an astonishing technique... what else can you do?" Lee spoke in wonder.

The blonde grinned. "Just a few more wind techniques." To demonstrate he, threw his jacket off, his t-shirt hugging tightly to his sweat drenched frame. He suddenly pushed his hands out, a wave of air expelling the sweat from his body, cooling him off. "But nothing too serious. I haven't really delved into wind manipulation too much."

Lee's eyes were filled with awe. "How were you the dead-last of your class?! You only graduated three weeks ago!"

Naruto smiled softly. "School doesn't interest me." he answered simply, cracking his neck.

The clones around Lee seemed to shift, ready to pounce. "You ready for another round, Lee?"

The Genin nodded again.

Naruto watched as his troop of clones charged Lee, getting dispatched one by one.

Naruto watched with his eyes furrowed, analyzing the boy's movements. After a couple dozen of the clones got dispatched by Lee's crazy speed and finesse, Naruto's eyes widened; the boy was ever so slightly telegraphing his movements, most people would never notice, but Naruto had amazing eyes.

The only thing Naruto could say to describe Lee's technique was simply that it was like a river, everything was interconnected smoothly, one thing leading to the next.

In short, Lee was _too_ good.

_"... dodge, jump, strike, throw, dodge, jump, strike, grab, throw, duck..."_ He slowly, but surely was able to read the boy's movements, understanding a vague but underlying pattern. He narrowed his eyes, his feet glowing with chakra.

Lee was on the last couple of clones, smashing his fist into the second to last one.

"Now!" he growled, as he launched off in a gust of wind, appearing before Lee. _"Now he'll go to the side!"_ indeed the boy did, true to Naruto's observation.

_"I can make a flashy move too!"_

"U!" his fist flashed forward, cutting off lee's path of escape, smashing into his gut.

"ZU!" the last clone jumped forward punching Lee in the face, rattling his brain as the original Naruto created two clones in a poof of smoke.

"MA!" One of them smashed a fist into his back causing him to double forward.

"KI!" The last clone was crouched low, smashing his foot forward, sending Lee skyward.

The original drew a kunai and jumped on the clone's back, using it as a platform as he sprung into the air.

"NARUTO BARRAGE!" he drove the butt end of the kunai into Lee's throat, causing the boy to choke before Naruto used air grasping to push off the air and drive his foot into Lee's gut, smashing him forth into the ground.

*Crack!* The earth seemed to shake, giving away a bit as the genin landed, form sprawled out.

Naruto himself dropped on his knees after he landed, his clones poofing out of existence.

"Please stay down..." he gasped, his chest heaving. "For the love of god please stay down..." he had none of his chakra left, and he was physically exhausted.

Lee's form seemed to twitch as he struggled to stand up, his eyes twitching in pain.

His head rose, slowly.

"DAMMIT STAY DOWN!" Naruto fist was a blur as it connected with Lee's forehead, finally knocking the poor genin out. Naruto blinked, Lee was breathing, but he was down.

He had done it... he had won...

Everyone was staring with their mouths agape.

Gai honestly couldn't believe what he just witnessed. His eyes were wide and in shock.

Kakashi's popcorn fell from his hands a long time ago, around the time Naruto used the air itself as a springboard.

Sasuke was torn, on one hand his teammate was stronger than him, he could learn something possibly... but on the other hand, it came so easy to him. _"...__that's not fair..."_ he was downtrodden, his pride wounded. As he watched that fight he realized how far he still had to go.

Gai walked forth, picking his student up. "Uzumaki..." his voice was solemn.

"Ummm... yes?" Naruto asked.

"You're a weird kid... I originally thought you were like a harmless butterfly in a field..." He said, causing Naruto's eye to twitch. "But then, you became a dragon, your flames of talent and youth burning down the very field you resided in."

Naruto's mouth was wide. "What?"

Gai ruffled Naruto's head. "Your a very talented young man, and I'm glad Lee fought you instead." Naruto wasn't really used to compliment, so he just stood frozen at the Jonin's words, before the man vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Kakashi walked forward. "So..." the blonde shook his head, looking at the man. "Steak?"

Naruto nodded, smiling. "Steak!"

* * *

(Three hours later...)

Sasuke had decided not to come, saying he was fine just staying at home. So the student and teacher were sitting at a table of a bar, eating away at the delicious meal before them.

"Oh god! This was so worth it!" Naruto was eating away at his Ribeye, the simple, yet rich flavor of the fat melting in his mouth. He was able to enjoy it despite the several bruises and torn muscles layered over his entire body.

"I'm glad..." Kakashi smiled. "So... would you be willing to answer some questions?"

Naruto nodded, elated by the flavors of his food. "Sure? Fire away!" he stuffed some mashed potatoes into his mouth... oh god!

"Where'd you learn to air grasp?"

"I taught myself." He summarized, shoving the amazing fried squid and the mash potatoes into his cavern.

"... How?"

"Well, I just took some scrolls from the library. Well... the restricted section of the library." he admitted, scratching his head.

The silver-haired man nodded, at least the boy was being more honest. "So what other chakra controlling exercises do you know?"

"I know the leaf sticking, tree walking, water walking, fire passing, and the water molding exercises."

The man blinked, both surprised and impressed. "Why?" he scratched his head.

Naruto shrugged. "They're useful. Plus if I didn't have solid control I'd blow my arm off doing seals." The Jonin seemed to accept this answer, though it opened alot of other questions for him.

"Okay, just one last thing, did you show everything you could during that fight?" his fingers were drumming on the table.

Naruto nodded, unsure what the masked-nin was implying. "Umm, yes..."

"Everything?"

"Yes."

"Everything?" His voice was more insistent as Naruto let out a sigh, understanding what he was getting at.

"Before you ask again. No, I can't use _his_ chakra." he knew not to state the Kyuubi in public. Kakashi quirked his head.

"Have you...tried?" Naruto was started to get a little irritated by the man's questions, but continued on.

"Yes, several times. But I will never be able to use _his_ chakra." Kakashi's eyes widened, he opened his mouth, but the blonde interjected

"The seal does not allow me to use _his_ chakra." He finished, his eyes narrowing.

"What, but why?"

"Because the Yondaime didn't want me to... for whatever reason." He knew why, but it always made him sour...

Kakashi opened his mouth again, but closed it, noticing a silent resentment creeping up from within the boy. So the man just settled for enjoying the steak with his student.

"You feeling less sore?" The silver-haired man asked to break the tension.

"I wish." Naruto rubbed his shoulder, returning to his normal disposition.

_**To be continued...**_

_**Oh Jesus... that was SOOO HARD TO FINISH! Anyways, that was my first fight scene, ever... so sorry if it was bad, but I wanted to show Naruto's ability in a fight. He's strong, but he's not godlike like everyone thought.**_

_**Anyways I hope you all enjoyed the chap and liked the twist I added. How is he going to fight his opponents without Kurama!? How is he going to fight Akatsuki!? Why did the Yondaime do that!?... you'll find out... though not all at once. Also... there is a reason he said "Kinda" when Sasuke asked him.  
**_

_**Please review! I appreciate anything! And I've been LOVING the feedback and love for this story.**_

_**Storm out!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note: So, about the Naruto fight. One person brought up an interesting point. How would Naruto be able to fight Lee if he has great combat experience, and Naruto has little to no combat experience and no real exposure to pain?**_

_**That is an excellent question. Here is my response (Hopefully it somewhat satisfies your curiosity):**_

_**One: Lee is a Taijutsu specialist, but keep in mind this is a few months before the Chunin exams. It would be safe to say that this Lee is not as strong as that Lee, both in experience and power and speed. Secondly, Lee IS a Genin, and only one for a single year, he has not gone through any REAL life threatening situations yet (I think in the manga he only went through probably a couple C rank missions at most). The most he has fought with is bandits and sparring with his teammates. So although he has experience in combat, it's not tooo major.**_

_**Two: Naruto himself may not have been in fight, but his clone has which was at the academy for 5 years - you don't get to become a ninja without doing any spars in Taijutsu and similar skills, which is shown regularly in the manga. He'd know how fights work through his clone.**_

_**Third: Naruto had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. ALOT. Lee had never seen half the moves Naruto did before. Naruto won because he frankly surprised Lee.**_

_**Fourth: Pain Tolerance, Naruto in the manga was able to stab himself in the hand with a Kunai. This Naruto does train, though he doesn't prefer too anymore, and likewise does have a similar pain tolerance as well.**_

_**Anyways, on to the chap. Trust me, you'll be surprised yet again from what I pulled.**_

_**Side Note:... sorry for my simple and underly-descriptive writing style :(... seriously...**_

* * *

_**Chapter Six: Unexpected Occurences**_

The long, dark presence of the night had settled comfortably into town of Konoha. Everyone had settled into a quiet, blissful sleep, enjoying the silence as the moon hung high into the sky, basking everything in a soft glow of serenity.

However, two figures were oblivious to the night, working laboredly in training field twenty-five. The sounds of flesh contacting flesh resounding into the darkness.

"Get up." Kakashi kicked the beaten, orange-clad form of the blonde in the gut, earning a grunt.

"Guh..." Naruto was on his hands and knees, blood dripping from his mouth. "Dammit..." a pained cough escaped his lips. "We've been doing this for hours."

Naruto wished he had lied to Kakashi about Kurama's chakra, he really, truly did. Something about not being able to use the beast's chakra seemed to awaken a demon within the Jonin.

"I said we'd do this until we made progress in your taijutsu." Kakashi whispered softly, an uncharacteristic apathy laced with his voice. "... have we?"

"No..." The blonde's legs wobbled as he pushed himself upright. "But my entire body feels like it's been chewed then spit out."

"Poor baby." Their was no hint of remorse. "Want me to give you a baby bottle to? Maybe I can tuck you in at night and kiss your forehead." He laughed, a dark bone-chilling laugh.

Naruto's eyes blazed in defiance. "What the hell man!? Stop being such a dick! I'm freaking-!" The jonin punched him in the mouth, silencing whatever the blonde had to say, dark crimson liquid gushing from his lips.

"Naruto." The cool steel in his voice cut right into the blonde. "When we are training you _will_ give me respect."

The blonde's eyes bore into the ninja before him. "I don't even want to train." He grit his teeth. "You dragged me out of my room and _forced_ me."

"Out of necessity."

"What necessity!? This is peace time!" The blonde spluttered.

"... It is always calm before the storm. Besides, your condition will bring forth enemies. Enemies that will squash you under their feet. Enemies that will have the power to take down entire villages. Yet, how will you be able to fight them without the fox?"

"..." Naruto looked away, unable to respond.

"Once other villages find out you have Kyuubi, and they _will_ find out. They will send their strongest against you." He repeated. "And although your talent is impressive. Your skills have holes, and you lack _discipline._"

Naruto furrowed his eyes, clenching his fist. "I was able to beat Rock Lee, a combat specialist..."

Kakashi completely disregarded the statement. "But in Taijutsu, he squashed you. No, he utterly _destroyed_ you. Even though your speed and strength were just as outstanding as his, your form was full of holes, you were throwing flawed punches, and you wasted unneeded energy. You had to spam those clones and catch him by surprise to defeat him."

"I know that..." he spoke quietly. "But it was enough."

"It won't be enough as against other Jinchuuriki, especially when all of them are trained to fully utilize their Bijuu..." Kakashi's argument held strong.

"Then why the hell are we training!?" Naruto spat back, his eyes boring into the man. "You're making it sound like it's all hopeless!" The man's fist flashed forward, his fist sending the boy sprawling on the ground.

"Dammit!" The blonde spat, a bruise forming on his cheek.

"You _will_ show respect when we train. I'm doing this out of kindness for your future. I'm preparing you for the trials to come."

"... What's the point?" The blonde was on his hands and knees as he stared at the ground.

The Jonin crossed his arms as he looked in distaste at the Genin. "... Enough talking, come at me." The blonde sprung forward with renewed strength, his fist drawled back.

However the difference, between the two was just too great. Kakashi was always two or three steps ahead of the blonde, beating him into the ground until the blonde couldn't move.

"... We can call it a day. You may go. But remember, you do not mention these sessions to _anyone._" The blonde nodded weakly as he lay beaten and bruised on the floor. "Good. Remember, if you do, I will deny everything, and you will be _severely_ punished. Doing this for you will be viewed as favoritism by your teammates." The man vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving the orange-clad ninja.

_"... He's freaking bi-polar..."_ The young teen groaned, his entire body racked with pain.

**_"Indeed. He is truly a demon of a teacher." _**the beast mused.

_"Kurama?"_

**_"Yes, boy?"_**

_"... I don't think I can survive doing this six hours, seven days a week..."_

**_"Can't say I'm jealous." _**The great beast shrugged.

_"... No words of encouragement?" _The blonde asked weakly.

**_"You did insult my ears..."_** There was a certain bitterness in the demon's voice.

_"..."_ Naruto was too tired to even twitch his eye, opting to use the rest of his energy to trudge home.

Meanwhile, Kakashi watched from afar, shadowed within the trees, his form phasing out to reveal the crooked smile of a bandaged-face man.

* * *

It had been a five weeks since Naruto had started his torture sessions with Kakashi, and needless to say, the boy's skills had grown by leaps and bounds. What took people months and years to learn, he had learned in days and weeks. Though the boy would be damned to admit it, Kakashi was a fantastic, though ruthless teacher. For example, to work on his acrobatic skills and fluency in air grasping, he would have the boy dodge numerous kunai and shuriken with his hands tied behind his back. To have the boy work on his strength, Kakashi would have him climb the side of a mountain using one arm and no chakra. To test and work on his fire passing skill, he would have Naruto sit still while he would blast a giant fireball his way, forcing the blonde to mold his chakra to soften the impact of the flames.

Needless to say, Naruto had gotten many serious burns from the last exercise. Even more so, he hadn't even gotten through a tenth of the exercises Kakashi made the blonde do.

But despite all the individual training the blonde did... why was he stuck painting fences?

"Naruto, seriously!?" Sakura's voice rang out.

"What?"

"... Why are you just lying under a tree while your clones paint the fence?" Indeed, five clones were painting the fence in tandem.

Naruto waved her off. "I'm tired..."

The girl walked up to the blonde, crouching in front of him. "This is supposed to be a team exercise." she had a small frown on her face as she looked at his apathetic face.

"So I'm helping." He gestured to the clones.

"That's not what I meant..." she gave a slight pout. This caused Naruto to give an agitated sigh.

"Sakura?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Please..." her eyes became watery.

"Sakura..." he let out a slight growl.

"Pretty please...?" she took one of his hands and put it to her smooth cheek... it was effective.

"Erm." He hesitated ever so slightly.

"...with sugar on top?" she took his other hand, clasping them both together as she rubbed her cheek against them... it was super effective...

"..." his eye twitched before he gave another exasperated sigh. "Fine."

"Great!" she jumped up sharply, pulling him along.

*Crack*

"Ow! My back!" Sakura blinked as Naruto started caressing his back, a pained expression evident on his face. "Dammit woman!"

Said 'woman' got behind him. "Come on, let me help."

"Oh hell to the no!" he exclaimed, waddling weakly away from her.

"I'm good at massages!" she rubbed her hands. This seemed to etch a sense of horror on Naruto's face.

"Kakashi!" the blonde yelled in pained agony.

"Yes?" the man drawled out lazily, peeking up from his fascinating book.

"Sakura's abusing me!" he pointed to the pinkette.

"Hmm, how so?" he quirked his head.

"..." Naruto froze. "... dammit." he hung his head in shame.

"Exactly." The man went back to reading his wonderful, exhilarating book.

The pinkette's hands were on the boys hips, a gleeful expression plastered on her face, striking fear into his heart.

"Sasuke!" he called out to the raven-haired boy, who was methodically painting the fence.

"..." The boy was quiet.

"Sasuke!" Sakura's hands were moving.

"... she's your problem now..." the boy said ruefully, causing Naruto to blanch.

"Don't worry Naruto! I've been practicing!" she chirped happily, her hands running along the blonde's well toned back.

_"... God?_" he looked up at the sky, tears forming in his eyes. _"Was I a girl who raped boys in my past_ _life? Is this Karma?"_

Unexpectedly, the girl's hands did not roam, they kneaded the knots in his back, causing the boy to blink at the... feeling they gave.

"H-how are you doing this?" he stuttered, his eyes wide. Her hands were magical.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" she quirked her head.

"Your hands!" He spoke in wonderment.

"Oh, well my mom's a chiropractor! She gives me lessons from time to time!" she chirped happily. "Now..."

*Crack*

"OH MY GOD!" He screamed in pain, pointing at the girl. "What the he-!" he blinked, twisting and turning as he marveled at his seemingly new back. "Oh my god..."

"I told you!" She smiled brilliantly.

"Yes you did..." He blinked. "Thank you." He whispered, scratching the back oh his head. "... could you work on my shoulders?"

She wagged her finger playfully. "Not until you help paint the fence."

"Awww..." he pouted.

* * *

(Later that day...)

Though Naruto didn't want to admit it, Sakura was good at massages. It was thanks to her that he could walk without a slight tinge of pain every time he took a step. It was thanks to her that his torso and legs felt good, no, great. Although, he could've sworn there was a heavy blush on her face after she _thoroughly _massaged said body parts. That being said, the girl was starting to grow on him, even though he had sneaking suspicions she would fondle him in his sleep. The eight weeks they had been teammates, she had seemed to make a concerted effort to befriend him: making efforts at small talk, buying food for him, and, although he found it a little invasive, started getting more handsy with him.

Handsy meaning, quite simply, she would try to hold his hand whenever they walked alone. Like right now.

"Sakura..." the blonde grumbled, uncomfortable with the girl's grip.

"Yes?" she asked with a that sweet smile of hers.

"... Why do you insist on holding my hand?" he asked tiredly, wanting to get a bit of rest before he went on another torture session with Kakashi.

"Well..." the girl put one of her fingers to her chin thoughtfully. "They're soft."

"Soft?"

"Yes, really soft. Like the petals of an orchid."

"..." He honestly didn't know how to reply to that. If he objected rudely... she would somehow persuade him. So with disgruntled irritation, he let it slide, even letting the girl close her eyes and rest her head on his shoulder as they walked. It was quite humorous really, considering she was taller than him.

_**"... I think you, my dear sir, have been bitchified."**_

Naruto's eye twitched at the fox's sudden entrance. _"Hey Kurama?"_

**_"Yes?" _**

_"You ever figured out what I called you earlier?"_

**_"You mean with that weird calculus crap. No, Why?" _**

_"Because its funny that I, a freaking teenager, called you a jerk, while you, a wise, immortal being didn't even realize it." _

_**"Your response gets a F for fail, because of its lack of wit, lack of conciseness, and utter insignificance in my presence." **_Naruto grit his teeth at the fox's snide remark.

_"Kurama."_

**_"Yes?" _**

_"Shut the fuck up."_

**_"Hit a cord now, didn't I."_**

_"No, you're just being an ass."_

**_"You need someone to keep that big head of yours in check."_**

_"..." _Naruto rolled his eyes.

_**"Ahh, my words have stunned you into silence." **_

_"No, I just find it ironic that your head's the size of a two-story house."_

**_"Ahh, there's the witty response! B-plus!"_**

Naruto shook his head in amusement._ "You're getting too much of a kick out of this."_

The fox let out a tired huff. _**"Well, let's do a fact check as to why. I'm an all-powerful being stuck in a cage, my only source of company being a fourteen-year old, blonde, smartass, hormonal teen." **_It drummed its fingers on the floor of its cage. _**"Do the math."**_

The blonde shrugged. _"Wow, you're cranky today."_

**_"No, just bored. Extremely bored. Especially since I can't watch TV with you like normal. Instead, I'm literally watching paint dry."_**

_"How do you think I feel?"_

**_"I don't care." _**

The blonde was actually a little bit hurt by that statement._ "Well then... to each his own."_

**_"Ha. Kurama, seventy-five thousand-six hundred and forty two, Naruto, sixty-two thousand five-hundred and seventy-eight." _**The fox grinned in triumph.

Naruto almost face-palmed. _"... That has to be the saddest thing I've ever heard."_

**_"What?" _**The great beast quirked its head curiously.

_"You're actually keeping score..." _The blonde shook his head.

The fox seemed to flash its sharp teeth in reply.**_ "At least I'm not that pink-haired girl's bitch."_**

"..." The blonde just kept quiet as he finally arrived at the door to his house. With a quirked eyebrow, he looked at the girl that using his body as a walking pillow.

"Erm, Sakura?" Green eyes fluttered open.

"H-huh?"

"We're done. You can go home now." He offered, relieved

"Oh..." Her eyes suddenly dimmed as she begrudgingly let him go.

"..." He looked in irritation at the girl's crestfallen state. "Oh what now!?"

"Oh, nothing." she replied offhandedly.

"It sure doesn't seem like 'nothing' to me."

"Don't worry about it."

"Well, I wouldn't. But you're still standing here."

"..." she was still silent.

"Oh darn it. Just do what you want, then lea-" Before he could even blink, the pink haired girl grabbed his shoulders and chastely pressed her soft lips against his cheek.

The blonde froze, his eyes wide.

"Bye!" The girl skipped away just as quickly as she kissed him.

"..." The Genin put his hand to his cheek, unable to quell the intense tingling sensation that surged throughout his entire face. _"... D-did she..."_ he shook his head, unable to believe what just occurred. _"... No, I'm hallucinating. It must be the heat." _He seemed to be satisfied with his logic.

The blonde may have felt hot, but it was only seventy degrees. It must have been his jacket. Yes, his thick, orange jacket.

Needless to say, he decided to ignore the intense laughter of the fox in his mind as he shut the door.

* * *

(In the Hokage's office...)

A cool wind rolled into the room, prickling the aged old-man's skin as he looked over a scroll, emotions of surprise and anxiousness crossing his visage.

"You wanted to see me sir?" The bowing form of Kakashi seemed to faze into existence before the man.

"Yes, yes." The leader nodded, a solemn expression evident. "I have recently received a request for a very interesting mission, one that specifically entails your team." He rolled the scroll up and held it out.

The Jonin took the scroll, unrolling it and scrounging through it, his eyes widening. "You can't be..."

"Yes, yes I am." Sarutobi emptied his pipe.

"But, is the boy ready? Furthermore, you sure its safe?"

Sarutobi gave an exasperated sigh. "We have investigated the area several time. Nothing of interest ever seems to pop up. Plus, I think it's time he learned about his culture. However, you are his Sensei. It's your decision."

A worried look was evident on the Jonin's face as he looked at the Hokage. "..." He was silent, his mind churning in thought. "Yes, he probably won't have such an opportunity for quite some time."

The Hokage gave a small smile. "You really do care for him." He filled his pipe once again.

Kakashi nodded. "I just hope he's mature enough to handle it."

"Indeed." He took a whiff of the object, blowing out a ring of smoke.

* * *

(Six years ago...)

It was October 10th, a day Naruto dreaded. It was a day where nobody in the village ever seemed to be happy for him, always ignoring him, and even outright giving him glares. It was like everyone had a chip on their shoulder from his mere presence.

"Darn it..." The young boy sat on his couch as he turned on his TV.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

_"... Oh please don't be pranksters. Seriously."_ He groaned, as he went and opened the door.

He was met with a warm smile and beautiful brown eyes. "Y-Yuna?"

"Hey Naruto!" The girl smiled, holding a red and white striped box.

He blinked. "Wait. How come you're here?"

The girl quirked her head. "Silly, it's your birthday." She held up the box.

He stepped back. "I-is that for me?"

"Why, of course it is?" She looked around, as if she was surveying a field. "I don't see anybody else ."

He shook his head, at a loss for words. "I don't believe it."

He was met with a charmingly cute giggle. "Believe it." She walked right into the house, setting the present on a nearby table.

"Seriously though..." He had a small blush on his cheek as he shut the door. "You didn't have to get me anything."

A warm hand was suddenly found ruffling his hair. "Oh, I know. I just wanted to." Her smile was simply mesmerizing.

He looked away, a small pout on his face. "You didn't have to."

"Naruto?" A playful expression was evident on her face.

"Yes?"

"Shut up." The blonde wisely shut his lips. "Besides, what else were you going to do today?" she looked at him expectantly. "Study Gauss's law?"

"..." He blushed, looking away.

"Wow!" She giggled again.

"What?"

"You're so nerdy and predictable," she said, shaking her head.

"Hey! Shut up!"

She laughed again. "Make me!"

The blonde tried to tackle the woman, who just laughed and side-stepped him, tripping the boy in the process.

"Curse you..." he grumbled, falling flat on his face. The girl laughed softly again as she went and got the present.

"Well..." She crouched low and held the veiled object to the blonde's rising form.

"Well what?" Their was a befuddled look on his face.

"Well open it!" He looked at the gift hesitantly, sighing before unraveling its secret.

"..." his mouth was agape. It was a jacket, a bright orange jacket with the symbol of the leaf in the center of its back.

"What? You don't like it?" she seemed to be worried, rubbing the back of her head. "It was the smallest size they had at the store."

"No." he looked at her, putting it on, the garment falling loosely over his form... it seemed to be several sizes too large. "I like it. Even though its really big." Who was he kidding, he loved it. It was bright, warm, and so soothingly comfortable. "Thank you..." he sniffed, suddenly noticing his vision was getting blurry. He blinked again, clear drops of liquid cascading down his cheeks.

Was he crying? Why? He wasn't sad. He wasn't sad at all. In fact, he was probably the happiest he had ever been in his life. Nobody really ever gave him anything like this. Namely, everything he had received in his life, whether it be clothes, his food, his apartment, were all things given to him out of necessity. So to have someone actually give him a genuine gift like this...

"Thank you..." he suddenly hugged her, nuzzling his head into her neck.

"... Oh Naruto..." He felt her rubbing circles into his back.

"W-what?"

"You're such a baby."

* * *

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Naruto blinked as he whirled his head to the noise, the source coming from a solemn Kakashi knocking on his window.

"Yeah, yeah..." He opened the alternate entrance, looking down in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"..." The silver-haired man just stared at him long and hard. "Be in the field in five minutes." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto sighed as he proceeded to follow the man's instructions.

* * *

(The next day at Konoha's bridge)

A deep tension saturated the air of team seven's usual meeting spot. It was so thick, that it probably wouldn't be able to be cut with a knife, it was suffocating, making beads of sweat drip down Naruto's brow, all because he was alone with a silent, brooding, Sasuke. Honestly, it angered the blonde. Ever since he had fought with Lee, the Uchiha had grown even more distant. To make matters worse, he would-from time to time-give a cool, hate laced glance at the blonde.

It was on full force at the moment, seeming to drill a hole into the side of the blonde's head.

"Dammit Sasuke! What the fuck!?" He glared at the raven-haired youth. He was met with silence, utter silence, his only reply being the piercing black eyes gazing at his own. "Really?"

"..."

"You're just going to ogle me?" He could've sworn he saw the boy's eye twitch. _"Bingo." _The blonde shrugged his shoulders, waving his arms in defeat. "Well it does explain your sexual preference."

The Uchiha seemed to growl. "I'm straight."

Laughter met his response. "Yeah, as a circle."

"No, a ruler."

"Che..." the blonde snorted. "Then your stares remain the mystery of the world."

Sasuke clenched his fists, gritting his teeth as he looked away. "... How?"

Naruto furrowed his eyebrow in response. "What do you mean?"

"How the hell are you so strong?"

"Meh, I don't kn-"

"Cut the crap!" He yelled, stepping forward. "... You..." he growled, his voice suddenly quieting down. "You jerk..." he looked down at the ground, kicking a stray pebble.

Naruto stared, surprised. "What?"

"I don't understand. It doesn't make any sense." He leaned on the bar of the bridge. "I train everyday... everyday, tirelessly, constantly pushing myself. I did it so I could be stronger. I did it so I could achieve my dreams." He clenched the bars. "I thought I was making progress... I was able to graduate at the top of my class. I thought even though I didn't graduate early, it was an accomplishment in itself, even though it wasn't what I wanted."

He suddenly glared at Naruto. "Then you came along, walking in with that goddamn don't-give-a-crap attitude."

The blonde boy wisely chose to keep himself quiet.

"Then... you lied to me, no, everyone, hiding who you truly were." He shook his head wildly. "You're so smart..." He banged the bar of the bridge. "So freaking strong..." his fist hurt as he continued to smash his fists against the bars of the bridge. "...so fucking fast..."

He pointed at the blonde. "And you don't fucking do anything!" he growled. "It's not fair..." he blinked, a drop of liquid running down his cheek. "It's not fucking fair!"

Naruto had never seen the Uchiha so... shaken before. It made him seem actually human, instead of the prick his clone had witnessed in the academy.

"I..." he hiccuped. "I couldn't even follow your movements when you fought with Lee..." He held his head. "And I'm _supposed_ to be a _fucking_ Uchiha. I'm _supposed_ to have the greatest eyes in the elemental nations. I'm _supposed_ to be the last hope for my dead clan."

He glared at the blonde. "Now look at me! Where the hell am I in the goddamn, grand scheme of things!?"

Naruto just stood still, his mouth agape. In all honesty, that was the last thing he had ever expected the raven-haired boy to say.

"... You know what they call me Naruto..."

The blonde shook his head, still stunned. "... No..."

"A _hard-worker_..." Tears were streaming down the raven-haired youths cheeks in waves. "... Not a genius, not a prodigy... a _hard-worker_..." he looked away from the blonde, hiccuping again. "It's n-not fair..." He looked at the blonde with hate-filled eyes. "... You're smart. You're a fucking full-blooded prodigy, and you barely even work."

Naruto took a step towards the boy.

"Damn it!" The boy stepped away, rubbing his eyes. "And now your going to fucking insult me again like you always do, with that smart-ass mouth of yours."

Naruto was in front of him, a solemn expression on his face.

"What!" He balled his fist in front of him

The blonde pulled at the bottom of his shirt, offering the edge to the youth. "Your nose is running."

The Uchiha blinked, opening and closing his mouth, before gritting his teeth once again. "Why do you care?"

A frown was etched on his face. "... Just wipe your nose Sasuke." The Uchiha turned away, wiping away the mucus on his shirt.

He suddenly looked at him again. "...how?"

Naruto gave a sigh. "It's not how hard you work Sasuke." A blank, tear-stained look met his response. "Its..." the blonde tapped his head. "How smart you work."

The Uchiha opened his mouth but Naruto cut him off with a wave of his hand. "How about I make you faster?"

He was met with a disbelieving stare. "How could _you_ make me faster."

Naruto rolled up his sleeve, an array of symbols and ink tattoed on his skin. "I said how smart you train right?"

He received a nod in the affirmative.

"Well these are Gravity Seals." he traced the patterns on his arm. "They up the field of resistance around your body, almost as if you yourself get heavier. If you increase the pressure each day, your body slowly adapts until you feel like you're normal." He paused. "In fact, let me see..." The blonde tapped his chin, earning a quirked head .

"It's been four years, and probably a few months, give or take a few days... and the resistance ratio is set to increase by point zero, zero nine every day... so." He raised his finger into the air, a metaphorical light-bulb sparking to life. "I'm approximately walking around at ten point six, six, five times gravity..."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "How much do you weigh?"

"Around a hundred and six pounds..." Naruto replied offhandedly.

"... That means your walking at?"

"Yes, approximately eleven hundred thirty pounds..."

Sasuke just stared. "... That shouldn't be possible."

Naruto shrugged. "Well its probably why I'm so damn short." A tinge of sourness was evident in Naruto's voice. "However, it's amazing what your body can do if you give it time to adjust."

The Uchiha's tears seemed to dry up, replaced with a look of confusion.

"So..." he drawled. "You got stronger while just watching T.V. at your house."

"Well..." Naruto scratched his head. "Yes."

"... That's cheating."

"I guess it is." Naruto chuckled.

"But you'll give these ..." He paused. "Gravity seals to me?"

"Well, I suppose its only fair. You are my teammate."

Sasuke's jaw was agape as he stared at Naruto for a few moments, before his visage shifted to one of contemplation and wonder.

He held out his hand, a tinge of pink coloring his cheek. "Thank you..."

"Don't mention it..." The blonde shook his hand. The two seemed to be comfortable in silence as the form of Kakashi and Sakura approached in the distance.

* * *

(Later that day...)

Naruto and his fellow teammates stood in front of the Hokage, stunned into silence. The news they just received utterly blew their mind.

The blonde decided to speak up, ignoring the amused look of their sensei. "Wait... you're assigning us a C-rank mission? An _actual_ C-rank mission?"

The aged-old kage seemed to smile. "Well, you three seem to be getting along to better swimmingly. Also, I'm getting tired of hearing your groans whenever I assign you missions." He chuckled as he smoked his pipe.

"Wait, what is this mission, sir?" Sakura seemed to pipe up. In response, Sarutobi held up a scroll.

"You will accompany an archaeologist to investigate the ruins of Uzushiogakure..."

Naruto was at a loss for words.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Again, I really do appreciate the feedback, and I'm sorry to the fans that feel disappointed that the story got serious, well the only thing I can say is that I didn't want this to just be crack so I tried to make the storyline interesting as possible, but nevertheless there will be crackish moments in this story.

Anyways this is a transition chapter which will (hopefully) help people understand more of who Naruto really is. Plus it will hopefully explain some confusion in regards to Sakura's newfound infatuation with him.

Oh yes, before you begin...

WARNING! WARNING! SITUATIONS OF UTTER CRAKISH CRAZINESS MAY CAUSE SEIZURES!

... you have been warned...

_**Chapter Seven: About a Boy**_

Naruto really wanted to hate Konohagakure. Yet, as he walked through the streets of the village, he couldn't help but admire the clear cloudless sky, the lush green vegetation, and the tall, well-structured buildings. After his team was assigned the mission to Uzushiogakure, the Hokage had given them a day to prepare their belongings for the trip. However, the boy felt confused.

His family secrets were kept away from him his entire life, and out of nowhere, he was given a golden ticket to actually discover who he was. He didn't know whether to be happy, or confused, so he just settled to reserve any judgement until he actually visited the ruins.

That being said, he felt utterly grateful he could go home and rest for once. Seriously, his body was _killing_ him.

_"I'm gonna sleep soooo ha-"_

**_"BOOOOORRRRREEEED!" _**The sudden groan of irritation caused the blonde to pause in the streets.

_"What?"_

**_"Your pondering is more annoying than watching paint dry..." _**

Naruto's eye twitched as he gave a sigh, resuming his trek to his house. _"I love you too."_

The great beast gave another moan_.**"Why don't you do something interesting?"**_

_"Why don't you imagine yourself a playmate?"_

The fox frowned, looking down at the ground in defeat.**_ "... I can't." _**

_"Sucks."_

**_"Well," _**It seemed offended.**_ "You seem cranky." _**

The blonde gave a sigh._ "I just want to lie down and read a book." _His response was met with a snort.

**_"Those things you read aren't books. They are torture devices..." _**

_"You smoking something!? They are great Sunday reads!"_

The Biju shook its head, opening its mouth as a it recited a verse like a robot.**_ "Energy Czars and Hot Boxes: Appropriate Energy Matching Using Second-Law efficiency and Solar_ _Dynamics..." _**Its voice returned to normal.**_ "That is not a 'Sunday read'." _**

_"You kidding! I just nerdgasm'd!"_

**_"..."_**

_"What?"_

**_"..." _**The blonde heard a light sobbing from within his mind.

_"What?"_

**_"Why do all of my containers have to be so weird!"_**

_"Well-"_ Naruto's eyes suddenly widened as he felt a familiar chakra signature approaching, fast. "My ninja senses are tingling..." He crouched into a fighting stance.

*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*

The sound of feet reached the shinobi's ears. Naruto turned his head to the side, a green bullet approaching him at break-neck speeds.

Before the green blur smashed into the blonde however, the blonde's hand glowed with an array of heavenly-blue seals.

_The green rocket was five feet away._

A poof of smoke erupted from the blonde's palm.

_A sandal-clas foot was five inches away from smashing into his nose._

A two-and-a-half-foot long object enshrouded in smoke appeared in Naruto's hand, while a cool, fearless look encompassed his face.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" A particular youthful voice reached his ears, the sandal-clad feet a mere two inches from breaking his nose.

"Think again!" Naruto swerved his head to the side, the foot brushing by his ear as he smashed the smoke enshrouded object into the figure, earning a 'oof' as the green shroud was blasted into a nearby fence.

"Guh!' a resounding thud was heard as the figure's back connected with hard wood. However it hardly damaged the attacker as he brushed him-self off, shaking the dust out of his stylish bowl-cut.

"Yosh!" Naruto covered his eyes from his foe's blinding white-smile. "As expected of my eternal rival!"

The blonde gave a sigh, shaking his head as he heaved the long object onto his shoulder, the smoke lifting to reveal a wrench.

The world's largest, sexiest, manliest wrench. It was so manly, that it's mere presence seemed to stun all who saw it, making them feel as if their estrogen levels were too high.

Lee could only admire the object with wide eyes, his thoughts vaporized by the wrench's outright sexiness.

"N-Naruto-san! What is that!"

Naruto blinked. "You mean this?" He pointed to the object on his shoulder.

"Yes!" The young Genin nodded enthusiastically. "In all my youthful years, never have I seen something so masculine!"

"Oh," the blonde scratched his head in confusion, unphased by his object's sheer, radiant masculinity. "This is my wrench."

"A wrench?" the Genin asked, bewildered.

The blonde froze, his jaw agape. "You don't know what a wrench is?"

"Forgive me for my unyouthful ignorance." Lee bowed.

"You sad, sad man." Naruto shook his head. "I'll tell you later." He straightened his posture. "What do you want to challenge me in now?" He sighed. Lee had been challenging him from time to time in all sorts of odd-contests since Naruto had beaten him.

Lee gave another bow. "At first I was going to challenge you to a battle of masculinity..." He looked down at the ground. "But it seems I have already lost."

"Huh?" Naruto was confused again.

"But if I may ask my rival? How long have you had that magnificent object?" He admired the wrench in awe.

Naruto suddenly beamed. "Oh! I've always had it! I use it to fix things up around the apartment!"

"I see..." Lee looked down in the ground, adopting a look of contemplation. Naruto suddenly got extremely worried, this meant one of two things: a "hip new challenge" or a "youthful" proclamation.

He seriously hoped it was the latter.

"Yosh!" The green beast jumped up in exuberance. "I will bathe with sandpaper in hope of increasing my masculinity!"

The boy ran off in a burst of dust, leaving a very relieved Naruto.

"Thank god!" In another poof of smoke his trusty wrench returned into his hand.

* * *

Naruto smiled as he lay in the relaxing comforts of his bed.

"Ahhh..." He was in bliss, his muscles sighing in relief.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Gah!" The blonde shouted in contempt, throwing the sheets off the bed, marching off to the door. As soon as he got to it, he opened it, his fangs bared.

"WHO IS IT!?" He screamed.

"Eep!" Sakura jumped up in the air.

"... Oh, it's you." Naruto's eye twitched. "What do you want?"

"Ummm..." She put her hands behind her back, looking away, silent. To most it would have been a cute gesture, but it just irritated the blonde.

"Okay seriously. We have a mission tomorrow! What could you possibly need right now?" There was a visible vein threatening to pop out of his neck.

"I kinda wanted to ask you out..." The girl trailed off, blushing.

Naruto's frustration faded, leaving a look of confusion. "Sakura..." He sighed. "Come in then..." He opened the door for her, watching in amusement as the girl skipped in.

"Thank you!' she chirped.

"Yeah, don't mention it. Just sit down, and let me get some orange juice." He walked into the kitchen as the girl sat on his couch.

"Interesting." The girl looked around the living room. It was rather clean, much to her surprise, almost shockingly so. In fact, it was _too_ clean. It caused the girl to get up to further inspect it.

At first glance the room wasn't too unusual, two opening on either side leading into the kitchen and the bedroom. A TV, couch, coffee table, but the interesting thing was the bookshelf in the corner of the room. It was interesting because of the sheer size of it, the fact that everything was alphabetized, and the subject matter of the books.

"I didn't know he was into this stuff." She pulled one of the books out, blinking at the absurdly over-the-top title.

"...Large grain Ge growth on amorphous substrates for CMOS back-end-of-line integration of active optoelectronic devices..." She shook her head, flipping through it. "This is insane..." the types of mathematical equations and concepts boggled Sakura's mind.

She honestly couldn't even begin to understand this, or even the extra set of handwritten notes with the Naruto's handwriting. However it begged the question, who was Naruto, really?

She carefully put the book back, pulling out a red-covered, more approachable one.

"How to Win Friends and Influence People..." she noticed that there was a book mark only a few pages in, as if the boy had just started reading it.

"Like what you see?" She felt a hand her shoulders and a hot breath in her ear, causing her heart-beat to rise. Naruto was so close, she could practically feel him pressed up against her.

"U-umm, yes." Her cheeks had gotten incredibly flushed.

"Cool!" Naruto let the girl go, grinning like a madman.

The girl in turn turned around, the book still in hand. "Well..." she coughed slightly.

She saw a glass of fresh orange juice thrust into her face, causing her to blink. She had forgotten about it. "Oh, thank you." she took it in hand, still holding the book in the other. "So..." she took a long sip. "I didn't take you for a reader."

She saw Naruto chuckle. "Alot of people don't. But after a few hours of TV, you can get pretty bored." She seemed to accept this with a nod.

The girl downed the drink, finishing the glass before walking to the couch and setting down her glass.

She honestly had nothing else to say, so an awkward silence permeated the air for a few minutes, even though to the two it felt like hours. Finally Naruto broke the silence.

"Sooo..." He walked to the couch, sitting to the side of the girl. "Would you be willing to answer one question?"

"Uhhh, sure." She nodded slowly.

"Why do you suddenly like me all of the sudden?" He directed an inquisitive look at her.

She directed her eyes away, having trouble looking at him. "Well..." she felt herself choking on her words, before she finally willed herself to let it out. "It's because..." She mumbled the end softly.

"Huh?" he blinked. "I didn't hear you."

"I felt bad for treating you badly before, I didn't know what you felt like until you actually made me realize how much of a jerk I was... but that didn't make me like you..." she had a blush on her face.

Naruto adopted a stoic expression, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's because you think I'm sexy." How he said that with a straight face, nobody would ever know.

"H-huh!" She did an amazing impersonation of a tomato. "N-no!" She stopped. "I mean y-yes, bu-" Her words were an incomprehensible mess, causing Naruto to laugh.

"H-hey! Stop that!" She spluttered, her cheeks burning.

"Haha! Sorry!" He smiled. "So as you were saying." He gestured for her to continue on.

"... I don't feel comfortable going on..." she looked away.

"Oh come on, don't be like that." He frowned. The girl paused, not looking away. She really, really didn't want to speak, however she was in the blonde's house, and he did just give her a glass of orange juice; it was her favorite drink. She supposed she could try telling him, it wouldn't hurt. After all, she had been an incredible jerk to him in the past.

"Fine." She sighed, steeling her self to continue on. "I guess it's because I realized what I was missing..."

Naruto nodded, grinning. "Because I'm sexy."

Sakura's eye twitched. "Get over yourself!" she looked away. "That's only half-right..." she mumbled softly.

"You admitted it!" He gave a hearty laugh.

She waited until he was done, a firm pout plastered on her face.

"You done?" She asked firmly

"Yeah, my sides hurt." He wiped away a tear.

"Good." She grunted, before suddenly realizing what she would say. "I guess it's because I admire you." She looked away.

Naruto stared.

He blinked.

He scratched his head.

Did he just hear that right?

"Wait... what?"

"You're kind, intelligent, and quite honestly, the most talented person I've ever met." She blushed again. "Also, you're not trying so hard to be noticed, as mean as that sounds, and it kinda allows your other, dare I say.." she had a playful grin on smirk on her face. "...endearing qualities to show up." she finished before looking away again. Naruto's mouth was agape, unable to process the words the pinkette said.

"I lied to you." He interceded, still confused. "Like the entire time I knew you, I lied to you." He was scratching his head.

"Well I kinda gave you multiple concussions, so I think we're even." She smiled softly, before scratching her cheek. "Or at least I gave that clone multiple concussions."

Naruto chuckled. "Okay I can live with that." He leaned back into his couch.

She blinked. "...Huh?"

"I find your support for your sudden attraction to me appealing and sensible. Though I would like more detail on those 'endearing qualities' I can live for now." She seemed to accept this with another nod, before opening her mouth.

"So can I ask a question myself?" she rested her head in her hands, a twinkle in her eyes.

Naruto shrugged. "Shoot."

"What do you do on your free time?"

Naruto blinked, sitting up straight. "Well... I do pretty much whatever."

Sakura frowned. "Sorry?"

"I mean, I do anything that interests me: read books, practice jutsu, make new seals, build stuff, whatever."

Sakura quirked her head. "'Build stuff'?"

"Yes, I make things." He nodded, as if that was normal for a ninja.

"What type of things?"

"Well, I made a pool in the apartment."

Sakura opened and closed her mouth. "Wait, you have a pool in your apartment?" she looked around, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see a pool."

Naruto grinned. "Do you know where the separation between this apartment and the apartment next door is?"

Sakura shook her head.

"Well..." He put his hand on the wall behind the couch. "You're gonna love this." An array of seals blossomed from his hand across the wall.

Sakura blinked, her jaw going slack.

"And now, release!" The complex array of symbols glowed an intense heavenly light, before dying down, the wall slowly dematerialized piece by piece, as if disassembled by heavenly hands.

"W-what the heck!" Before she even finished the sentence, the slab of concrete had disappeared.

"Ahh, space-time seals!' The blonde laughed. "Gotta love them."

The girl didn't even pay attention to his words, her mouth going slack as she looked at the secrets the wall revealed. Indeed, there was a pool, a decently deep apartment sized pool, immersed in a solid white-tiled room complete with a ladder and a small hexagonal shaped mini-pool that bubbled with steam.

"A hot tub too!" She rubbed her eyes. "This can't be real! You just vaporized a wall and made a pool appear out of thin air!"

"Well no... it's been there for a couple of years actually."

Sakura stared at the blonde dumbly. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I get bored! Plus there was nobody using that room, so I did some redecorating." He finished with a nod of self-approval.

"By making a pool!" She flailed her arms wildly. "How?"

"Very carefully." He summarized, still having that stupid grin on his face.

"..." She looked at him long and hard, for what seemed like hours before shaking her head and giving a sigh. "So..." She massaged her temples, adopting another look of interest. "You swim?"

"Of course!" He grinned. "You didn't think I got so sexy by just sitting on the couch all day did you?"

"No comment..." She chuckled a bit. Naruto really was the most interesting person she ever met in her entire life. To think... he was an engineer. Who would have known? She quickly banished her thought however and looked at the pool again. "Soooo, can I take a dip."

"Nope." He held out a hand to the area where the wall used to be, his hand glowing dimly with chakra as the concrete slab materialized back into existence.

"Awww." She pouted. "Why?"

"Because, I'm tired." He finished, stretching his arms and giving a loud yawn.

"Oh..." A tinge of guilt struck the girl's chest as she finally noticed the dark circles under the blonde's eyes. She suddenly moved to get up before the boy grabbed her arm.

"Wait..."

"W-what?"

"Do you want the book?"

"Huh?" the girl noticed the hard-back piece of work still clutched in her hand. "Oh yes..." She scratched her cheek. "Umm..."

"You can have it, I don't mind, I've read it several times already." Well his shadow clones did.

"Oh thanks, but..." She looked it over. "How come you're reading something like this?"

There was a grim smile on his face. "Let's just say, a friend gave it to me a while back and I decided to look through it."

The girl paused for a moment, utterly baffled by that statement. "Friend?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Who?" She quirked her head.

"Yes."

"Their name is 'Yes'?" She asked innocently, causing the blonde to chuckle.

"Very funny."

The girl smiled sweetly back, giving a v-sign. "I try, I really do."

This caused the blonde to smile back, before adopting a thoughtful position. "You know Sakura, you aren't as bad as I thought you to be." At first the girl blinked, before giving him a confused look. "You're a lot less, for the lack of a better word, clingy than I expected."

"Well..." she smiled. "I decided to change my paradigm."

"Why now? You were clinging on to me like a jacket going out of style."

"Well, you aren't as one-dimensional as I thought."

"Oh?" He furrowed his eyebrow.

"You're a genius, and an engineer. Plus you're like a puzzle," She began walking towards him. "I want to solve you."

Naruto was stunned, his jaw agape. "H-huh?"

The girl suddenly kissed him on the cheek before walking away. "Thanks for the date!" she waved and shut the door.

Naruto sat frozen, still blinking.

_**"Oh you are so her bitch." **_The fox's voice boomed from within the cage.

_"Shut up!"_

* * *

_To be continued..._

Yeah pretty short, sorry for that, just wanted to give you guys a little treat because It's been awhile. Anyways, here it is!

Also, because this is so short. I GIVE YOU AN OMAKE!

* * *

The Twenty Reasons why you shouldn't be a Ninja by The Utterly Fabulous Jiraiya

_Parents, you should think twice before sending your kids out to the academy to be a Shinobi. Because honestly, we're freaking prostitutes! In fact! Here's why!_

_1. You work very odd hours._

_2. You are paid a lot of money to keep your client happy._

_3. You are paid well but your pimp gets most of the money._

_4. You spend a majority of your time in a location of your client's choosing._

_5. Creating fantasies for your clients is rewarded._

_6. It's difficult to have a family._

_7. You have no job satisfaction._

_8. Your client always wants to know how much you charge and what they get for the money._

_9. Your pimp encourages a 'hobby' and you become addicted to drinking to ease the pain of it all._

_10. When you leave to go see a client, you look great, but return looking like hell._

_11. You are rated on your "performance" in an excruciating ordeal._

_12. Even if you get paid the big bucks, it's the client who walks away smiling._

_13. The client always thinks your "cut" of your billing rate is higher than it actually is, and in turn, expects miracles from you._

_14. Your pimp seems to often abuse you, forgetting that without you, he would not have a business._

_15. You do all the real work, but the pimp has a higher status and more money, and really just has to "coordinate" the work for you. Sometimes, you wonder if you could just make more money pimping out yourself._

_16. You get so brainwashed into the lifestyle, that you don't realize that life can be better, until it is too late._

_17. Personal time, or a work/life balance, is meaningless to your pimp, all he cares about is satisfying the clients, despite how many times he tells you he loves you._

_18. After a few years, you find that all your non-prostitute friends are no longer your friends, because you lost touch and your schedule and lifestyle was difficult to manage. Now you find that you associate primarily with other prostitutes._

_19. The turnover rate is ridiculously high. Everyone thinks they can do it for a few years, no problem, but after just a few clients railing you, many break under the pressure, or quit for a better life._

_20. Many toys that are used for the job that are either cheap and disposable, or horrendously expensive, are all very likely to get lost in each and every job, which would then likely need to be replaced at full price for the next job._

_And that my dear parents, is why you should think two, three, four and five times before sending your child to the academy._

_Cheers!_

_-Published by the Ninja Times_

* * *

Again, tell me your thoughts in a review! I appreciate all feedback! Also I make it a point to respond to every single one!

So again, please review!

_Storm Out._


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note:_ Again, I am so, so happy at the feedback that I've received for this story. The criticisms are also welcomed, especially towards Sakura. Yeah, I have an explanation planned out for her disinterest in Sasuke. But it will be later in the story. The only thing I'm worried about is disappointing everyone's expectations... especially with what I have planned for this arc.

My friend/beta/adviser sendicard told me doing this arc so soon was risky, and may make this Naruto seem like a gary-stu (though he isn't, especially because he really doesn't actually get stronger). He said it should be done in the middle of the story...

However, I listen to what he says at my own discretion (I'm an ass aren't I).

Plus, this story IS a legend. I thought what I had planned was pretty epic... though again, sendi said it was too much...

I tried experimenting with the mock-heroic genre. That is, making a simple event blown to epic proportions. Basically it's like making cutting a girl's lock of hair into the fucking fight with the freaking Juubi... I'm serious. I wonder if you can pick out the scene.

Anyways, this chapter is more focused on the plot. So without further ado...

LET'S START THE UZUMAKI ARC! (Cue music)

* * *

_**Chapter Eight: The Start of a Journey**_

_She watched the expanding void, unaware that this was the opening of suffering. Dull, dark, long, boring, yet strangely comforting. It was as if she was staring into the space of time itself; watching as even the shadows made mimicry of everything she'd ever known. Comforting darkness surrounded knowledge, she didn't move, saw nothing, it just surrounded her, engulfing her, devouring her._

_Suddenly, a drop of crimson splashes into the void and the darkness explodes into a bright haze of crimson and amber. The comforting cold vanishes, replaced by the stabbing heat of adrenaline._

_The nothingness has bred horror, large sculptures and mountains of gold surround her as she stands in a giant of a room. An aura of pure Ra, dark as the blackest night emanates from a young boy with blood red hair and crimson eyes, standing silently across the room._

_The boy stands unmoving, nine tails swaying behind him, a red cloak befitting of his features; distorting the air around him. It eats away at her very sanity, feeding off her sudden fear._

_Quiet, yet judging._

_Small, yet endless._

_Dark, yet godly._

_A bleak, ethereal laugh escapes the being as it skulks towards her, "You fear me? You should. You are weak." The child's voice is distorted, deep and filled with echoes. As it closes in on her she backs away, surrendering herself to helplessness. She shies away, hopeless yet persistent in the act of escape. A green pendant shines through the crimson cloak as the boy comes closer, calling out to shatter her will once again. "Give up and call upon my child! Let us see who can hold truth!"_

_For the first time in history she gives into fear, releasing the demon inside her and relinquishing control. A blue coat covers her every feature; Changing, molding, morphing, a tiger is born. "I'll destroy you!" she shrieks._

_Filled with power, abandoning control, she springs at the creature in front of her, banishing rationale._

_Pain registers as sense comes back, thousands of gold pieces shred into her body, power leaving with a vengeance. No recollection of how, simply what was now, and an unforgiving agony._

_"You are nothing, nobody, a simple ant waiting to be crushed by my foot. I am the origin of power, the sage of demons, the father of everything; leave or die!" She stands and flees, shaking the gold from her skin. She races away, ignoring the trail of blood she leaves behind._

_She wishes for nothingness; darkness to comfort her. She urges to banish this feeling, her legs kicking into high gear as she runs, the entity giving chase._

_"You can't avoid me. I can see you, I can feel wherever you are." The voice thunders, her ears splitting from the pain._

_"If you choose to run you might survive..." Booms of thunder rocked the room from outside. "but the pools of cleansing..." A massive tremor rocked the room, mountains of yellow falling forth. "...will not be denied."_

_Water flows from the ceiling, the endless room filling slowly as she runs endlessly into nowhere. She looks back and the monster's aura melts away as the pendant fades, in its place stands a beautiful blond with shining blue eyes. He smiles, before he gently closes the gap and offers his hand; ignoring the ever growing pools._

_Her cold is replaced by a filling warmth, the child's smile piercing her much like the first. An innocent yet echoing voice flows from him, bringing new perspective to the sound. "Come with me." He pleads to her, but fear has not yet completely been replaced. "Get away from me," she cries as she backs away._

_His smile never vanishes as he softly closes the gap between them, his hand held out. "I'll protect you, it's over, let us leave." His shining smile adding a glow to his golden hair, his blue eyes urging her forward. The room fills to their ankles with water, "There isn't much time."_

_She pushes away fear and the room lights up. As she grabs his hand the water bubbles, a small boat rising below them._

_A feeling of relief, a feeling of finality; hits her as tears well in her eyes._

_"Why?" She asks, the question plaguing her mind more than anything else, the importance never escaping._

_His face lights up, canines in his smile elongating. "This is my home. __**Now leave or die!**__"_

* * *

Yugito's eyes snapped opened as she shot up, a cold sweat drenching her body.

_"What the hell?" _The blonde, seventeen-year old girl surveyed her surroundings. She was in her room, laying in her bed, the black curtains blocking the light that loomed behind her window. Everything was as it should be, thank the lord.

That dream had been happening recently to the young girl, she knew it meant something. It _always_ meant something.

_"What could it mean?" _She turned around and dug her hand under her pillow, pulling out a journal and a pen from the pocket of her pajama pants. The ability to foresee the visions of the future was one of the traits she had gained from the burden within her. Although, the visions came in random bursts, were convoluted, and sometimes so off the mark from the reality, the girl was determined to figure out what meaning it could possibly have.

After all, she never had a dream that recurred two or three times.

She started to scribble on her journal, noting whatever new images she could remember.

_"Red hair... Shining pendant..."_ She finished her musings, giving a sigh. "_The nine tails has to be the Kyuubi? Right?" _Although an incredibly sound judgement, her dreams liked to screw with her._ "But who the hell is that kid?"_ She tapped the pencil against her chin as the thought lingered.

_**"Why do you care?**__**" **_A feminine, monotone voice boomed in her head._** "You going cradle robber on me?"**_

_"Shut up Matatabi, shut up or help me think." _She furrowed her eyes as she tried to recollect her thoughts.

_**"You think too much, try opening your eyes."**_

_"My eyes are open." _She deadpanned.

_**"What is it you see?"**_

_"A piece of paper..."_

**_"You've already written about the Kyuubi. Ask me."_**

_"Alright," _she nodded._ "Who is the kid?"_

_**"Your new interest in young ones is unimportant, what is important is that Father was there."**_

_"Shut up,"_ her eyes widened at the interesting answer. "_Father?"_

_**"Alright, shutting up."**_

_"Answer me, who is_ _Father?"_ Her voice got harsher._ "This is important!"_

_**"I'm going to go nap now."**_

_"What? No!"_

_**"Tired." **_She heard a loud, guttural snore.

_"Crazy ass cat..."_ Yugito gave a sigh. Why was she paired with the cryptic, nonsensical, constantly hibernating Biju? Why couldn't she have something more normal? Honestly, she probably had the nuttiest Biju of all time.

* * *

_**"IT'S TIME TO **__**BOOGIE!" **_A maniacal laughter was heard as the Shukaku, the One-tailed Biju of the sand, appeared in full glory, howling out into the air.

Suddenly the Kazekage looked up from his desk as he saw the enormous form of the Shukaku thrashing and hammering buildings while giggling from across the village.

He gave a sigh. "Looks like Gaara fell asleep again." he got up and stretched, cracking his back. "Well I'm going to be up late tonight."

* * *

Naruto gave a yawn as he strolled through the streets of Konoha. It had been such a long time-four weeks-since he had such a pleasant sleep. In fact, he enjoyed his rest so much, he didn't even mind the cold glances that random villagers would send his way.

In fact he enjoyed it so much tha-

"Darn this infernal contraption!'" An irritated, yet soft warm voice reached the blonde's ear, causing him to momentarily turn his head to the origin of the sound.

He saw a middle-aged man sitting on a bench, fiddling with a rubix cube in his hands, a black backpack to his side. By most standards he was quite handsome, having blood red hair that fell loosely over his brow. When the boy further inspected, he noticed that the man had an aged, but angular face adorned with a pair of sunglasses. Other then that, the man had no other prominent features, wearing baggy clothing that made Naruto unable to judge his physique. He honestly couldn't tell if he was slim and lanky, or actually hiding a prominent build.

However there was one thing that caught Naruto's attention more than anything. He had never seen this man before.

"It refuses to be solved!" The blonde walked over to the man, stopping in front of the elder man with an amused expression.

"I can solve it." His confident tone caused the red-head to raise an eyebrow.

"Well..." He handed it to him, closing his eyes as he raised his finger in an almost lecturing tone. "You can certainly try boy, but I assure you that a puzzle like that requires the utmost foresight, planning, tenacity. It cannot simply be-"

"Done." A bored voice reached the man's ears as he opened his eyes. There before him was the perfectly finished puzzle.

"Phenomenal." His eyes were wide in awe. "How'd you do that."

The blonde shrugged. "Wasn't so hard." The man furrowed his eyebrows and started fiddling with the rubix cubes, turning around, hiding it from Naruto's sight before holding out the new discombobulation of the object.

"Do it again."

The blonde simply took it with a bored expression, looking at the man in the eyes, a small smirk on his face as his hands became a blur.

Never had the man seen such smugness in a teen's eyes.

"Here." He held out the resolved puzzle to the bewildered individual.

He just just stared at the blonde through his sunglasses.

The boy just solved the rubix cube.

He had done it in a mere few blinks of an eye by just _glancing _at it.

That wasn't right.

"Okay, okay." the man took the rubix cube back, turning around and jumbling it up again. He then turned to his backpack, pulling out another. "Solve both of them." He narrowed his eyes, a smug smirk on his face. "At the same time."

The blonde looked at the man, his face hardening for a moment, his eyes seeming to dissect the objects within the man's palms.

"Sure." He took them in his hands.

Then he put the cubes behind his back.

_Eight seconds..._

Cracking his neck, the blonde shot a look of boredom towards the man.

_Fifteen Seconds..._

The pleasant sounds of birds chirping was heard by the two.

"So..." The red-head drawled. "How's the weather?"

_Thirty Seconds..._

"Great." The orange-clad shinobi held out the cubes to the man, a smug expression plastered on his face.

_... Holy Fuck..._

An agape jaw and wide eyes met the blonde's response. "You solved two rubix cubes without looking at it!" He pointed at the blonde comically. "You my boy, are a freak."

"I get that a lot." Naruto grinned as he tossed the rubix cubes back to the man.

"But how? To be able to visualize every single square and color in your mind...that's not normal." His face was a mixture of awe and jealousy.

The blonde just stayed silent, a smug smirk plastered on his face. If it wasn't for the fact that he just did something absolutely magical, the man would have wanted to wipe his smug little face off with a rusty spoon, though the man didn't show it.

"Well..." The red-head stood up. "My name is Sakotoma Ryoma." He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, my boy."

Naruto's visage turned into one of inquisition. "Funny how that works."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Name's Naruto Uzumaki, and my squad and I are accompanying you to Uzushiogakure." He held his hand out.

"Indeed, funny how that works." There was a certain spark in the man's eyes, though it was hidden by his glasses. They both gave each other a firm handshake.

* * *

Yugito was sitting in the Raikage's office, her hair tied back and in full uniform, which consisted of a short-sleeved black and purple blouse and black pants, both of which had a design similar to clouds on them, purple fingerless gloves and a chain of white beads wound around her left hand.

"Care to tell me why I'm here, sir?" She looked across the desk, tapping her fingers on her cheeks.

"Well..." The large, mountain of a man cleared his throat. "It seems that a woman has requested to meet you to visit the ruins of Uzushiogakure."

"Interesting. She does know that there's nothing extraordinary there, correct?"

The Raikage nodded, before replying, "She actually begs to differ. She says that she has evidence that there may be more than meets the eye in the area."

This caused the woman to quirk her head. "We've sent several search teams to investigate that area, _nothing_ ever comes up." Indeed, the Uzumaki wealth, weapons, and techniques were legendary among the elemental countries. It was one of the reasons Kumo helped to wipe out the clan in the first place.

It was also a source of endless irritation for the village, for the clan had seemed to destroy anything that belonged to them in a last ditch effort, so nobody would ever get their hands on it.

"I agree. However, the pay is _really_ good. I would go as far as to say that she has too much money." There was a twinkle in his eye, as he pulled out the mission scroll and showed her the amount.

Yugito paused, letting a small smile break through. That was _a lot_ of zeroes. "I could use a little extra cash."

"I thought you would." He nodded before turning his head to the side. "Come in!" His voice boomed to the door.

*Click*

The sound of heels reached the ears of two shinobi as a pale, petite, young woman walked in. She was dressed rather conservatively, having her black hair tied up in a bun and wearing what looked to be a grey, dull suit with a skirt.

She walked in, taking a seat next to the Jonin, taking a glance to her and giving a curt nod. "So you agreed to my request?" her voice was cold and stern.

"Yes..." Yugito nodded.

"You may refer to me as Sakotoma Setsuna. When would be a good time to depart?"

Yugito blinked, surprised by the abruptness, while the Raikage watched in amusement, stroking his awesome goatee.

"I will need a few hours to pack for the trip."

Setsuna just nodded.

* * *

Naruto felt weird as he walked out of the Konoha gates into the vast green lush of the surrounding forest. He had been in the village his entire life, and now he was leaving for a mission to visit the ruins of his family. When he looked at his teammates he could sense the same thing, they both seem excited, yet nervous that they were going on a month long journey outside the village.

However, he wasn't the only one to notice it, Kakashi did. In fact, the man took it upon himself to question their client in the hopes of easing his students' minds.

"Ahh, Ryoma, why have you decided to visit Uzushiogakure?" He was genuinely interested, after all, the ruins held nothing as far as he knew.

The middle-aged man looked at the silver-haired shinobi, flashing a giddy smile.

"As you probably know, Uzushiogakure was home to the Uzumaki Clan." He was about to continue on, but he noticed the sudden looks of surprise on the raven-haired and pinkette's faces.

"Wait..." Sasuke began. "Uzumaki clan?" He looked to Naruto. "You have a clan?" Sakura herself look to the blonde in amazement, they just kept on finding more and more new things about him.

Naruto grimaced. "Apparently..." He lied.

Ryoma quirked an eyebrow in shock. "Interesting. You didn't know. Well then I'm guessing you want me to explain then?"

He was met with a round of nods.

"Okay, well. Where to begin?" He tapped his chin in thought. "Do you kids know about the Sage of the Six Paths?"

Sakura spoke up. "He was supposedly the originator of chakra and shinobi techniques."

"Not supposedly, he was." He stated, a strict tone in his voice. "He was considered a god among men, he possessed the eyes of the divine, the Rinnegan, and chakra that could quite possibly rival gods. But enough about that, he had two sons, one who inherited his eyes, and another that inherited his body. To put it simply, they were the originators of the Senju and Uchiha clans."

The trio listened intently.

"The Senju clan split up, because of their views on 'love'." He started making dramatic gestures with his hands. "You see, the originator of the Senju clan believed 'love is the path to peace'. The Uzumaki, were a little more extreme in their views on it. To put it simply, they were pacifists. They did not kill."

That revelation completely shocked the youth, especially Naruto.

"Ironically, they were feared. They were wealthy, wealthy enough to sustain ten mid-size villages, and had an astronomical mastery over seals. In fact, they created some of the most fascinating pieces of equipment and objects in history." He paused, a certain mirth becoming more evident. "But that wasn't what was so interesting about them."

Naruto frowned. 'What was it?"

"Well, they were _incredibly_ spiritual. I believe they were Hindu, and adopted some Buddhist beliefs. But anyway, that stemmed into the way they used chakra."

That earned some quirked heads, even from Kakashi.

"They believed the chakra in the area around them, the life force of nature, and channeling that power. Of course, this led them to becoming phenomenal elemental manipulators... and their chakra, as a result, was _very_ strong."

Kakashi raised his finger. "If I may, when you say nature chakra, do you mean they were all sages?"

Ryoma shook his head. "No, not in that sense. A sage was a person who added nature's chakra to his own to strengthen it. No, they channeled the chakra around them and directed it."

Kakashi cupped his chin. "... What did that allow them to do?"

"It was the reason why the sage was so powerful, he channeled the power of the earth itself at his will."

"You make it sound as if the technique had no drawbacks."

"It didn't... if you could do it. Supposedly, one had to have inner peace for the technique to work, otherwise the chakra ripped through them and they would explode."

Kakashi gawked in astonishment. "That seems... messy."

"Indeed." Ryoma nodded.

Sasuke and Sakura honestly didn't have anything meaningful to add at the moment.

Naruto suddenly interceded. "How do you know so much?"

The man grinned. "I _am_ an archaeologist. I'm supposed to know everything I can." Naruto narrowed his eyes, before nodding.

"As you were saying about why you wanted to visit?" Kakashi reminded.

"Oh yes!" he laughed. "The village is just so full of rich history. I've always wanted to visit it. It's just that I've never had the money to do so. But I was eventually able to save up."

Kakashi seemed to accept this with a nod.

* * *

_To be continued..._

Yeah, that's just a set up of what's to come, and who the Uzumakis in my story are.

Hopefully it was interesting enough. Hopefully you liked the intro to Yugito!

Sorry for the short length again, I'll start updating five thousand words from here on out, promise. Seriously, I promise.

Also, Please Review! I want to know your thoughts!

Storm out


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: Not much to say except I love you all for your feedback, especially the constructive criticisms. However let's get on the subject of Hinduism. It's relevant to the plot and I think it fits in the Narutoverse, if done right. I personally thought the Narutoverse was a mix of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shintoism. In fact the eight chakra gates are in in the same place as the eight chakras in Hinduism. If I made a mistake... my bad. Too late now. :D Also the pairings... I'm unsure how the pairing are going to turn out. What I'm trying to do is develop characters, see which one works and flows with the story and do it._

_Therefore, even though I brought Yugito, and I first thought about bringing her in as a pairing, she might just serve as a villain for this arc. I really don't know, depends how she turns out and if I can breathe life into her. A pairing helps add to the story, it shouldn't be the focus of it._

_That being said, if this weren't a serious story and I was just writing for purely myself, and decided to forsake quality..._

_Yugito and Naruto would be fornicating right now, long and hard. It would be a phenomenal palooza of mind-blowing sex, and they would do it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY._

_However, I want to write quality so I'm gonna take my time and make it believable, despite the concept of a strong and lazy Naruto being pretty ridiculous... especially with what I have planned... _

_Well anyways, let's continue._

* * *

**_Chapter Nine: The Journey to the Village_**

_Jealousy, Envy, Anger, and Sorrow—_the feelings bubbled within Sasuke, mixing into a cacophony of disarray that hurt the youth's head.

Naruto was the last member of his clan, like _him_. Not just any clan, a major clan that was respected and feared throughout the nations, like _him_. Yet, ironically, the blonde was also the complete opposite of himself, opting to do the least amount for the most award.

It frankly conflicted the boy. He didn't know whether to feel happy that he had someone who could understand him. He didn't know whether to be saddened that there was someone like him.

In all honesty, Sasuke didn't know what he felt towards Naruto, all he knew is that he was jealous-almost green with envy-because Naruto was so similar to him, yet leagues ahead.

He just gazed at the blonde, noticing that there was a small grimace on his face, and a slight sense of defeat in his eyes.

It actually aroused a sense of sorrow from the raven-haired youth. "Naruto, you okay?"

The blue-eyed boy looked back, narrowing his eyes slightly before snorting. "Che, why would I be sad?"

Sakura seemed to speak up. "You're shaking, Naruto." She was holding the blonde's hand, something that still confused Sasuke to this day.

Ryoma and Kakashi watched the blonde, curious as the boy's reaction to his heritage. It made Naruto feel uncomfortable, to the point where he could have sworn that a heat-wave just engulfed the area.

"Mah, mah..." he chuckled as sweat rolled down his brow. "I'm fine, let's just continue on." he sounded rather unconvincing but the group just seemed to accept it silently before walking on, while Naruto and Sakura drifted to the back.

He knew he had a clan, but he never expected it to be so great. It unsettled him a bit, the thought of being the last of such an outstanding lineage.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered. "You sure you're fine?" She was still holding his hand, it was almost cute actually. However, the blonde hated feeling pitied.

"Just peachy!" He beamed, albeit forcefully.

"Your palms are sweating." She deadpanned, her eyes narrowed.

"Maybe you should stop holding my hand." He frowned.

"But they're so soft! I just want to rest my head against them." she whined, activating those puppy-eyes of her. It was irking him a bit.

"... You don't know when to quit, do you?" He sighed

"I don't think your sweat glands do either." Naruto did not know how to respond to that. Honestly, he _almost_ wished he had the old Sakura back.

Sakura, although she didn't show it, was blatantly amazed by the enigma that was Naruto Uzumaki. The more she got to know the blonde, the more she realized she didn't know.

Honestly, she had just found he was a genius, seal-master, math-geek, engineer, and heir to a great clan! What was she going to find out next? That he held the Kyuubi or something?

She inwardly shook her head. No, that would just be insane. She was about to ask him another question but she noticed the sour look on his face and just remained quiet, enjoying the fact that in his confusion he would still hold her hand.

* * *

(Few hours later...)

With the moon and stars shining in the sky, the group decided to rest, finding a nearby stream off the road with a mild-sized clearing. They proceeded to set up camp, pitching a tent and setting up a fire.

They then proceeded to sit around burning wood, enjoying the warm-cackling flames as their breaths made vapor puffs in the cool, nightly air.

After a couple of minutes Ryoma decided to go to bed, entering the tent, and leaving Kakashi with his team.

Once he was sure the man was asleep, evidenced by the soft-snoring, the silver-haired man spoke up. "How about I teach you kids to climb trees?"

The Genin, except Naruto gave the man an inquisitive look.

"Ummm Sensei, we already know how to climb trees." Sakura voiced, confusion ridden on her face.

"Hmmm, well you haven't learned to climb trees like this before." Kakashi smiled, before Naruto an expectant look. "You want to show them?"

"Sure..." The orange-clad boy got up and walked up to a tree, putting his foot on the trunk before slowly walking up the stalk, his body parallel to the ground.

Sakura felt her jaw slacken.

"What?! How?" She whispered in awe.

Surprisingly, Sasuke spoke up. "He's just channeling a steady supply of chakra to the soles of his feet."

Kakashi blinked, looking at the boy while Naruto sat on a tree branch, interest piqued.

"You know this exercise already?" The silver-haired man spoke.

The Uchiha nodded. "Taught myself." Ever since the raven-haired Uchiha saw the blonde do that "air grasping" technique of his, Sasuke had tried to emulate it, devouring any chakra-control exercises he could find so he could eventually do it himself.

Sakura felt amazed and a little bit sad about her own abilities after hearing this, she was dreadfully behind the two.

"What else do you know?" Kakashi scratched his head.

"I know the water walking and water molding exercises."

"Show me."

The raven-haired youth walked to the stream, casually putting down his foot on the water before he put another and another toe forward, eventually standing in the middle, looking back at his team.

"Perfect," Kakashi nodded, "now the next one." The raven-haired boy bent down, dipping his hands in the water, edging chakra forth, the water adhering to his hands as he pulled them out, a thick-basketball sized orb of water between his palms.

It wobbled for a bit, but held still as the Uchiha furrowed his brow, holding his concentration.

It was stunning, most Genin never even bothered to learn the water-molding exercise.

"I have to say, I'm impressed." Kakashi scratched his head in embarrassment. "I underestimated you."

Sasuke gave a small smile as he let the technique go, the water dropping to the stream in a splash. He actually felt proud of his achievement, especially the fact that Naruto had watched the entire time in shock.

However, said blonde suddenly appeared next to Sasuke in a swirl of wind, his arm draped over the Uchiha's shoulder.

"What would you do if you met a bear?" the blonde asked.

"A... bear?" Sasuke was utterly confused.

"He has a hat." A poof of smoke later and Naruto was wearing a white and green striped bucket hat.

"What?" Sasuke was so shocked that he lost control of his chakra, falling into the water.

He kicked and spluttered for a second, almost choking on the liquid before swimming back to land.

"Naruto..." Sasuke coughed, crawling back onto the grass. "... the hell?"

Indeed, the hell?

Sakura and Kakashi were looking at the now guffawing blonde like he grew a second head.

"Hahaha! I was trying to see if the water walking was instinctual. It isn't...yet anyway..." He grinned, the hat disappearing back in a poof of smoke.

"So, you question me about a bear wearing a hat?" Sasuke growled.

"Well, I was trying to make you lose your focus. It worked!" he suddenly heard a cough from his Sensei.

"... A bear with a hat?" Kakashi questioned.

"Yes, a hat." Naruto nodded.

"Well," he brought his finger up in an explanatory manner. "if it has a hat on then it has been domesticated enough, or is at least smart enough to know that I am no harm. I would just have to stay calm and keep moving, keeping my eyes on it at all times."

"Interesting thought process." Naruto tapped his chin.

"Thank you." Kakashi nodded.

"You guys are so weird..." Sasuke looked at the two, shaking his now aching head. Honestly, why didn't they just beat the bear up? They were certainly capable enough.

Sakura was honestly confused, sitting silently for a few awkward seconds before saying, "So could you help me with the tree climbing exercise?"

Kakashi nodded. "Of course!"

The tent suddenly opened up, and Ryoma peeked his head through. "I'm sorry, but could you guys keep it down?"

Kakashi looked embarrassed again. "Oh, sorry Ryoma-san, we will be quieter now."

"Thank you..." the man closed the tent, the sound of snores evident once more.

"Umm, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"Why is he still wearing sunglasses?"

Kakashi scratched his head. "... That is an excellent question."

* * *

After a couple more hours the group went to sleep, save for Naruto. The blonde was actually sitting on a branch of the tree, looking up at the moon with a distant look in his eyes.

His life... it was moving so fast, unbelievably so. It made him quite uncomfortable. New things were being thrown at him left and right: he had gained a self-proclaimed eternal rival, a self-proclaimed girlfriend, a self-proclaimed slave driver of a teacher, and to top it all off, he found out that he was descended from a long line of super powered spiritualists.

He had only been out of his room for two months.

Why was everything happening so quickly?

Why couldn't his life be normal?

_**"Naruto, you okay?"**_

_"Why do you care?"_

He was met with a moment of silence before the great voice boomed. _**"Because, even though I hate to admit it, you're my only friend."**_

The blonde was still for a moment, before giving a huff. "_It's just strange, I feel as if fate keeps on tugging me along, thrusting me into new events left and right."_

**_"If this is about me getting you out of your roo-"_**

_"No...thank you for that."_

The fox paused for a moment, its eyes widening.**_ "I haven't heard you say those words in a long time..." _**

_"I have to say, being cooped up in a room is extremely boring. So it is actually fun being out and about... despite all the work I have to do."_

**_"So what's your problem?" _**

_"Again, life's moving too fast. Plus, I think I'm getting too attached to my team."_

**_"You shouldn't be afraid of being attached to people, Naruto." _**

"I'm not..." He whispered, clenching his fists.

_**"That Yuna girl was a bitch."**_

_"..."_

**_"She made you feel special, made you feel wanted, then she left the village without saying _****_anything_****_."_**

_"She probably had her reasons..."_

**_"You locked yourself in your room because of it..." _**

_"I got tired of dealing with everybody."_

**_"I still don't understand why you keep all of the things she gave you, especially that damnable orange jacket."_**

_"Kurama, drop it. Please, just drop it."_

**_"Fine, but you shouldn't be afraid of getting attached to people, kid. Having friends is what keeps a person sane."_**

_"How the hell would you know?"_

**_"There was always a man I looked up to... He taught me the value of resilience, the value of keeping true to your ideals, and the value of not shying away from life's challenges."_**

_"Who was he?"_

**_"He was my father."_**

Naruto was silent for a few seconds. _"Father?"_

**_"You humans call him the Sage of the Six Paths. But to me, he will always be my father."_**

A plethora of questions was raised for the blonde, but he decided to file those thoughts for later. _"You seem to hold him in a high light?"_

**_"Indeed, he was a great human being... yet I find it strange..."_**

_"What?"_

**_"He also had a problem when it came to letting people into his heart."_**

Naruto was taken aback by the sudden statement. "..._ what do you mean?"_

**_"I don't think you're ready to hear the rest. Just keep in mind, a person needs friends."_**

Naruto only heard silence after that, and thus he was alone again, left pondering into the night.

* * *

(Couple days later)

The team had arrived at a ship port after a truly non-eventful walk, setting out in a traditional vessel to the island of Uzushiogakure. Needless to say, the group was happy to set out to sea, never having experienced the ocean before, save for Kakashi.

However, none were as giddy as Naruto Uzumaki.

Said boy was grinning like a madman, atop the crow's nest with arms spread wide, feeling the cool breeze of the ocean brush against his skin.

It was simply fantastic.

The way the morning sun rose up from the sea, lighting the sky in a majestic orange glow, just exhilarated him. It made him truly joyful that he took this mission, just seeing this view was enough to get his blood rushing.

Honestly, seeing the ocean in person was tons better than seeing it on TV!

He had been up on the ship for a few hours, yet the entire vessel was simply fascinating!

It was not just any ship, it was one that looked like the ones he had seen in those movies, what were they again? Oh yes, pirate ships!

"This is awesome!" he belted, activating the seal on his hand, a telescope 'poofing' into existence within his palms. "So cool!" he put the scope to his eye, looking through as he saw the endless, vast expanse of the sea. "So... epic!" He grinned.

"Oy Naruto!" Sasuke called on the deck of the ship, gazing curiously at his teammate.

"Yeah!" the boy still had that grin on his face as he looked down from his perch at the youth.

"Why are you still up there?"

"Dude! The view is awesome!"

"You can't just stay there!" Sasuke groaned. "Seriously, you've been there for hours! You should come down and eat!"

At first the blonde's face became serious for a moment, and a very evident grumble was heard from his stomach.

Sasuke just stared with a satisfied smirk on his face.

In turn the blonde stared back, though a thoughtful expression graced his features before he flashed a smile, a metaphorical bulb lighting in his mind.

"I have ramen!" Naruto suddenly ducked into the crow's nest, pulling out a steaming bowl of noodles in a poof of smoke. Sasuke could tell it was noodles because the blonde started slurping the long strands as obnoxiously as possible with a pair of chop sticks that he pulled from god knows where.

*slurp* *slurp* *slurp*

"... " Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "... Just how did you get ramen?"

"Storage scrolls are amazing!" The blonde grinned.

"Of course..." The Uchiha shook his head. "You sure you don't want to join us inside? The ship captain has some interesting stories." He was trying to be friendly, mainly because Kakashi told him that Naruto would most likely still be in shock.

*Sluuuuuurp* Naruto was out of sight, sitting down in the crow's nest while he enjoyed his noodles.

"..." Sasuke's eye twitched. "Naruto?"

*Slurp* *Slurp* *Sluuuurrp*

Sasuke just waited. The boy was eating rather quickly, if the sounds were any indication. He would be done soon. "..."

*Sluuuurp*

He waited some more.

*Slurp*

... and more.

*Sluuuuurpity* *Slurp* *Slurp*

... and more...

Suddenly the sounds of inhalation stopped and Sasuke smiled. "Finally!"

A poof of smoke suddenly erupted from the crow's nest again, and the sound of slurping began anew.

"..." Sasuke just threw his arms out in exasperation before walking back inside the ship. "I'm getting Sakura..." She could probably get him to get down.

The poor blonde had no idea what Sasuke was saying as he finished his second bowl of noodles, reveling the way the broth washed down his throat.

"Oh Ramen..." He sighed happily. "You're always there for me." He unrolled a scroll from his pocket, making a simple hand seal before a poof of smoke and noodliy awesomeness attacked his senses. He jabbed his chopsticks into another bowl and started slurping away again.

"Naruto!" Said blonde froze... _Sakura_...

Maybe if he stood still, she would go away.

"Naruto!" He did not move a muscle. "Naruto!" He did not twitch. "Naruto!" He did not even make a sound. "Naruto! I'm coming up there!"

_"Fuck..."_ The blonde gave a sigh as he heard the pinkette climb up the rope ladder to his perch.

A few moments later and he saw her head peer over the crow's nest and aim an expectant look at him.

"Naruto?" Her voice drawled out as she drummed her fingers on the hard wood of the ship.

The blonde was sitting away from the girl, still hoping his plan of utter ignorance would work.

"Oh Naruto..." The girl sighed as she climbed into the crow's nest and walked in front of the blonde. "What's wrong?"

The blonde had his eyes closed, feigning light snores while a steaming bowl of ramen was sitting firmly in his lap. It caused the girl to frown. "I see..." she looked contemplative for a second before giving a sigh as she held her stomach.

"Maybe he won't mind if I have some?" She uttered out loud as her hands made way for the bowl. However, the blonde fazed out in a blur of orange, reappearing four feet away with a sour expression plastered on his face.

"I would mind." He growled.

The girl smiled. "I know."

"Really? Then what else do you know?" He asked defiantly as he slurped some noodles.

"I know that you know that I'm not going to leave until you come down." She challenged, her eyes twinkling.

He set his bowl down, narrowing his eyes. "I know that you know that I know that you know I'm not going." He challenged back, sealing his noodles in a 'poof' of smoke.

"Well..." She began, accepting his challenge. "I know that you know that I know that you know that I know that you know that I'm worried." She ended, a frown gracing her features.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Prove it." She walked up to him, her hand on her hips as well as a look of expectancy.

"Woman, I am not coming down." His eyes narrowed.

Sakura's eye twitched. "Naruto, I really like you." She shook her fist in his face. "But don't _ever_ call me woman." Her voice got low, startling the boy, but making his eye twinkle.

"Make me, _woman_." He challenged again, crossing his arms.

The girl growled again and she stepped forward, clenching her jaw. "Say it again." She moved over to the side of the crow's nest. "I dare you." She smashed her fist down on the edge, the wood giving away and cracking under the blow. "I. _Dare. _You."

Naruto actually sweated at this, visibly gulping at the display at the crazy girl's strength. "... I'm sorry." He voiced weakly. Even he knew not to mess with Sakura's anger.

The pinkette's anger vanished as a tiny smile returned to her face. "Oh, that's okay." she waved it off. "Just don't be a jerk." she walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him in an awkward hug. "'Kay?"

"Erm... yes." He nodded.

"So, will you tell me?" She looked to him, her eyes narrowing.

"Umm..." He began, but noticed the hug getting dangerously tight. "I mean, yes, I could do that." The girl's expression softened as well as her grip. That being said, he was _extremely_ uncomfortable with the girl's new-found dominance over him.

"Naruto, please tell me." Her voice had a tint of tender worry.

_Crazy psycho-bitch._

He gave the bi-polar, possessive, possibly insane girl a tired look. "Okay, fine." He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. "I'm just a little shaken by being a descendant of such a great clan."

The girl frowned. "Why would you be shaken? I would be quite happy."

Naruto gave her a tired look as he gently got out of her grasp. "You don't understand." He clenched his fist. "To know that your the least of a line of a great line of people. That's just... _heavy._"

The girl put her hand on his shoulder. "Heavy?"

"Like the entire planet is on my shoulders. Like everyone is going to expect me to be something phenomenal. Extraordinary. That I'm going to carry out my clan's traditions and revive it like it's my god given _fate_." He gagged the last word out like it was poison.

The pinkette made a move to cup the blonde's cheek but he pulled away. "Naruto..." She gave a sigh. "What aren't you telling me?"

"You wouldn't understand." He clenched his jaw.

She took a step towards him. "I want to understand."

"I don't want you to understand." His voice got harsh.

The girl froze. "Naruto..."

"Look, I understand that you want to be kind to me and all. But, just because you think I'm all badass and cool ever since I saved you and Sasuke from failing doesn't mean you can keep on being lovey, dovey with me."

The girl shook his her head. "I don-" Naruto looked at her, eyes narrowed, cutting her off.

"That's pretty much what you said to me awhile back. You find me all interesting and cool now since I showed you all my abilities. Please, just spare me the crap. You don't make any sense." He was facing away from her. "Just leave me alone."

The girl stood, shocked and on the verge of tears. "You... jerk..." she sniffed.

"Save it." He glared. "Just leave me alone."

Sakura left without saying a word, leaving the blonde alone on the crow's nest.

_**"... well, aren't you a dick." **_Naruto snorted.

_"Shut it. I had to draw a line. I had to show her that I'm not just her play thing."_ The great beast just shook its head and gave a sigh.

**_"Naruto, you should take a deep breath. You're letting this news about the Uzumaki screw with your head."_**

"..."

The blonde was silent, opting to heed the beast's advice and adopting a meditative position. He closed his eyes, feeling his body expand: his chest, stomach, and lower back. He exhaled through his mouth, his mind clearing as he continued the exercise, forgetting about his troubles. He felt his back naturally lengthen as he felt his body free up, the tension in his shoulders, forehead, and arms vanishing.

Kakashi had taught him this trick in their now routine "torture" sessions. He had explained to him that one of the many reasons he tired out so quickly in their fight was because Naruto had never learned to "breathe."

It was one of basics for what Kakashi called, the "Namikaze Technique."

* * *

(Two weeks earlier)

Naruto looked across the training field to his teacher, sweat pouring down his face in buckets, chest heaving in pain.

"C-come on... again." He whispered weakly. Despite his wish to end their spar, the blonde had learned that complaining had gotten him nowhere, and thus tried for the opposite.

Needless to say, it made the sessions bearable.

His sensei narrowed his eyes, before palming his face. "Looks like I'm going to have to break it down for you."

"Wha..." Naruto's chest heaved again. "Do you mean?" he wiped his forehead.

The man shook his head. "We're going to have to focus your training on supplementary skills."

The boy quirked his head. "My progress is slowing?"

"Exactly. I had originally hoped that you would automatically just 'adjust' as you went on, but it seems I have overestimated you." The silver-haired man seemed disappointed.

The boy was slightly confused but the Jonin continued on.

"I'm going to teach you the Namikaze Technique."

The boy's eyes widened.

"You mean the..."

"The secret to the the fourth's unparalleled speed? No."

Naruto frowned.

"I'm going to teach you the reason why he was able to become the best in the village _before_ his speed."

Now _this_ caught Naruto's attention.

"As a ninja develops throughout the career, their body usually breaks down because of the lifestyle and physical labor. As is the case, the Fourth was no exception. Midway through his Chunin career, something odd happened. Whenever the fourth would engage in a fight, his legs would freeze up, preventing him from moving."

Naruto nodded slowly. "So..."

"So he became a burden on his team, and had to be put out of active duty."

Needless to say, this was a big surprise to the boy.

"To remediate the problem, he went to the best physicians. They told him that he was just overexerting himself and he just need to rest for a few months, so he did so. It seemed to work, in a spar with one of his friends, he seemed to be back to his old self. He moved with the speed and grace of some of the most promising shinobi in the village, toying with his opponent. But after a few minutes, his legs locked up again. That was all his opponent needed before he promptly took the Fourth down like a sack of flour."

The silver-haired man looked to the boy, gauging his reaction. The blonde was still nodding, a look of complacent confusion gracing his features.

"However, whereas most shinobi would have given up. The fourth didn't. You see, the fourth had a certain quality that put him above any shinobi I met. Do you know what that was?"

"..." The blonde stood still for a moment, cupping his chin in thought. "... his mind?"

The Jonin chuckled. "Close. But be a little more specific."

"Umm..." He tapped his chin in further contemplation. The fourth was known as a genius among men, having observational skills that... "His analytical skills!" He grinned.

"Partly."

"Wait, what?"

"He had an analytical mind, and a certain _obsession_ with being great. No, not just great, being a splendid shinobi that everybody would look up to."

Naruto nodded. "So what did he figure out?"

"He realized that he was adding unnecessary tension to his body whenever he would enter combat, and that as he had progressed further on his career he would tense more and more, eating away at his physical capabilities at a rapid rate."

"... and he learned to fight without tension?"

"Exactly."

"How long did it take him?"

"Approximately three months. Though during those three months, he didn't talk, and probably averaged six hours of sleep... a week."

The blonde was a little taken aback. That strangely sounded like how he himself had delved into seals.

"So I'm guessing he never sustained any self-inflicted injuries from that point. Great..." the boy furrowed his eyes. "But how does that help me progress faster?" He was a little skeptic about this, fighting without any tension? That just seemed impossible, and extremely counter-intuitive. Tension was actually good for combat, it kept one alert.

"Well... the Namikaze technique process shines a light on inefficient habits of movement and patterns of accumulated tension, which interferes with our innate ability to move easily and according to how we are designed. It is a simple and practical method for improving ease and freedom of movement, balance, support and coordination."

"Wait, you're making it sound like it completely evolves one's body or something."

"It does, by removing the inhibitions on our body's potential."

Before the blonde could open his mouth, Kakashi continued. "Why do you think Lee was still faster than you? Despite the fact that you walk around with half a ton of weight on your shoulders?"

"..."

"As a martial artist Lee is naturally trained in the art of relieving tension, which is why he was still _quicker_ and _stronger_ than you. Logically, you should be much faster than him, but you never allowed your body to properly accustom itself to your speed, so you subconsciously tense yourself to limit it."

"Forgive me, but what are you saying?"

"Now that I've beaten into you some basic fighting awareness, and refined your wind manipulation abilities to a suitable level, I'm gonna make you realize your body's potential."

He was suddenly before the boy. "Now breathe."

The boy was shocked momentarily, but took a deep breath.

"No, no. That's wrong." He poked the blonde's sternum, knocking his breath out. "Stop sticking out your chest. Relax your shoulders."

This continued on for what seemed like hours. The man would constantly berate the boy while the blonde would begrudgingly listen to him. The boy had developed horrible posture and all sorts of postural habits that inhibited him.

However when he stood at the end up straight, and breathing he felt... free.

"Now... keep this posture and run." The blonde crouched forward, but Kakashi shook his head.

"No, no, only tilt your head forward, just enough to give you forward momentum. Yes, that's it."

The blonde shot forth, his widening as he marveled the weightlessness he felt. His body seemed to be propelled forward, moving with a certain grace and finesse that he never experienced before.

Before he knew it, he had crossed the entire clearing in an instant.

*Thud*

Right into a tree.

"Ugh..." His face hurt... was his nose broken?

Kakashi shook his head. "We still have to work on your control."

* * *

Naruto was taken out of his musings. Though he was a little skeptic about this technique, he couldn't deny the fact that it calmed him. In fact he finally seemed to be able to control his breathing.

_"Maybe... I should. Wait how long have I been here?"_

His eyes darted up to the sky. Stars were twinkling, while the moon shined brightly.

He heard a yawn within the depths of his mind. _**"So... how did you enjoy your momentary spiritual journey..."**_

The blonde palmed his face. Wow, he really had no sense of time. He had probably been breathing for a couple of hours. Goddamn.

_"It was calming. Though I still want to be alone."_

**_"... How about you apologize to the pink-haired one?"_**

"She's probably asleep now. I'll apologize in the morning. For now..." he slammed his palm on the ground, a dome of chakra bubbling up around him before fazing out, invisible to the naked eye.

He had ceased to hear the sounds of the ocean, the protection seal had worked. Any rain or major sound would cease to affect him.

"I'm going to sleep." He laid his back against the hard wood and closed his eyes.

As he slept, the winds picked up and thunder cracked.

* * *

_To be continued..._

_Hopefully you enjoyed that chap, a little more uneventful than I know you guys would like. But It was more fleshing out the characters. Next chapter will be much more plot-driven._

_Please review and tell me your honest opinions!_

_Storm Out!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note: First I'm going to say I love you guys. Seriously, you keep me going. Anyways, I also want to say that this chap was extremely hard to write. Like, seriously. It also brings up some more question than you'd like but... it's the true start of the Uzumaki arc.  
_

**Chapter Ten: A Strange Turn of Events.**

A sudden thump to his head forced Naruto's eyes open. His shoulders hurt, his back hurt, his butt was in agony (sleeping on wood was definitely not one of his best ideas), and the floundering of the ship induced a wave of nausea.

"The hell..." he cursed, rubbing his head as he stood up against the wood of the crow's nest. His eyes darted around him as he struggled to maintain his balance.

A storm, roaring with thunder and tsunami like waves, was beating upon the ship, causing it to toss back and forth with heaps of unrestrained water. He could practically feel the ship breaking apart, groaning under the pressure of the waves. Before he could even collect his bearings, the wood jerked underneath his feet, throwing off his balance.

"Crap." He channeled chakra to his feet, gluing his sandals to the wood so he could collect himself. A giant flash of light blinded him as the storm roared, the sound entering the barrier as a loud boom rang his ears. Wincing, he grit his teeth as he collected his thoughts.

This was bad. Very, _very_ bad.

At this rate the ship would be destroyed; he needed to help out his teammates!

He thrust his palm down on the floor, canceling the protection seal as harsh, blinding rain striked him from above. He wasted no time and jumped off the crow's nest, but before he finished his descent, a wave of air erupted from his feet, softening his landing.

He crouched looking around, the mass amounts of rain almost blinding him. However, he saw a single dark figure in the rain.

Sasuke was climbing up the ladder of the crow's nest, his teeth grit in pain as he slowly ascended up to the top. Despite Naruto's shock, something registered for blonde.

The Uchiha was worried about him. For some unforeseen reason the boy was risking his own life to see if the blonde was okay. That... shocked him.

"Sasuke!" he yelled, trying to get the boy's attention. His voice was lost in the loud pounding of the rain. "...damn." he channeled chakra to his feet, jumping and kicking off an air platform and landing right next to the Uchiha, sticking to the pole.

"Let's go!" Naruto spat.

"Huh!" Sasuke was shocked at the blonde's sudden appearance. "I thought yo-"

"No time! We need to go!" Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke, but froze at a very uncharacteristic look of horror dawned on the Uchiha's face.

"What!?"

Sasuke simply pointed behind Naruto. The blonde shifted his head, his blood running cold.

Despite the blinding downpour, he saw it; a sixty foot wave was barreling forth, threatening to swallow them up in a bittersweet, watery death.

"Fuck." The water smashed into him, knocking his breath out as he was swept away in his depths.

At that point he didn't remember much, only the fact that he couldn't breathe, and he somehow held unto Sasuke before darkness consumed him.

* * *

_The first thing that Yugito noticed was that she was floating in a vast void of white._

_Her dreams were sooo weird. However, she noticed that this one was much clearer. More so, she was completely aware of her situation and what she was doing._

_Again... weird, but her dreams loved to screw with her._

_She looked around, trying to make heads or tales of what this could mean, but then her vicinity morphed. The endless void melted away, giving way to a landscape of vast vegetation that filled her senses with the sounds of birds and the smells of lumber. She looked around, surrounded by tall trees and blinding light._

_However, she was alone, safe for the chattering of the squirrels, and the songs of the birds, there was no sign of life. But before she could further investigate her surroundings, she felt it; a strong tug, almost magnetic in nature, encompassed her. Her astral form started moving, picking up velocity as the landscape melted into a blur. The endless stream images and smells attacked her senses before she jerked, her movement counteracted by a heavenly blast._

_She floated above the charred remains of a village, the stench of burnt wood and flesh in the air._

_"...Our family. They slaughtered them like pigs." Her eyes were drawn to the form of a man midst the wreckage. He was crouched over the black remains of a building, clenching his fists while his blood-red hair shadowed his face._

_"Ryoma..." Yugito noticed the form of a small, frail woman standing behind the man. "J-just calm dow-"_

_"Shut up!" He spat, smashing his fist in the ground. "I'm going to kill them. I'm going to spill out their guts and smear them over the street."_

_"H-honey!" She placed a hand on his shoulder but he gently pushed her away._

_"... I'm going to use it..." His voice softened, but still held the steel of conviction._

_"No, you're father-"_

_"Was too afraid of its power." He finished. "Those bandits... they killed him. They need to pay. They need to feel my pain."_

_The woman quivered, her breath increasing in pace. "It's not safe."_

_"Anything meaningful in life is never safe."_

_"Ryoma." The woman stepped towards him again. This time the man took her hands in his own and stared into her brown eyes with his emerald ones._

_"I'm never going to sleep easy again, Setsuna. I need to do this."_

_"I don't approve." She finished firmly._

_His eyes were filled with a tenderness. "Will you leave me?"_

_The small woman looked away for a second, her features drooping as she looked at the ground. "...No."_

The dream evaporated into gray mist as Yugito's eyes snapped open.

* * *

Naruto gagged, wheezing as his eyes crept open to a blue, cloudless sky. He was laying on his back, his clothes drenched in salt water, while the tide washed over his feet. He wiggled his fingers, running them through shifting mineral particles.

_"Where am I?"_

Groaning, he twisted his head side to side, bits of the granular substance sticking to his drenched skin. He saw a vast sheet of sand spanning further than his eyes could see.

He was alone on a beach. A hot, rocky beach. Great, just great.

_"Goddamit..." _The blonde sat up, despite the harsh ache that protested every movement. _"Just where am I?" _His thoughts were answered by his warm, fuzzy friend. It _  
_

**_"You're on a beach..." _**

The blonde's eye twitched "..._ I knew that." _He looked forward at the endless expanse of the ocean.

Shaking its head, the great being asked,_** "Well only stupid people ask obvious questions."**_

Disregarding the snide remark, Naruto grumbled in irritation._ "Being stranded on a beach just seems like a horrible, cliche plot of a B-movie." _

**_"Well, sad to say, this isn't a movie."_**

_"Yeah, they're much more entertaining._" He suddenly paused. _"Wait, where's Sasuke?"__  
_

As if on cue, the sound of a foot hitting sand reached the blonde's ears.

"Nice to see you're awake."

Naruto looked behind him, noticing the disheveled form of Sasuke carrying a mass of logs and rocks. "I can tell you right now, it doesn't feel nice." He stood up, gritting his teeth against his body's protests, and brushed the flakes of sand off his clothes. "Feels like the water had its way with me."

The Uchiha set the bits of nature down, smirking. "Nice to know you stopped brooding."

Naruto froze and stared at the raven-haired boy, his mouth agape. Sasuke, of all people, had called him out for his angst.

Said boy frowned. "You okay?"

The blonde shook his head. "Y-yeah..." He cracked his neck. "Just... adjusting to our situation." It was half-true. His body ached and his chakra was racing.

"Oh..." Sasuke nodded, crouching down and setting up campfire. "Well, yeah. We're stuck on an island."

"Wait..." Naruto's eyes widened. "Island?"

"Yes." Sasuke nodded. "I've only been awake a couple of hours though, so I haven't had the chance to venture further. But yes, we're on an island."

"Yes!" Naruto grinned. "We're here!"

"Huh?" He blinked.

"This is Uzushiogakure!"

Sasuke paused. "How are you so sure?"

"How many islands were near our ship?" Naruto directed a smug smirk at the Uchiha.

Sasuke looked at the blonde with a blank expression. "Shut up." He flashed through a set of handseals before expelling a subdued flamed that ignited the logs.

Naruto chuckled before his expression softened. Stuffing his hands into his pocket he looked to the side and said, "thanks for trying to save me by the way."

Sasuke snorted. "You should be. We're stuck on an island now." He directed a peeved glance at the blonde. "I want to wring your neck right now but we need to stick together if we're going to survive."

Again, Naruto was surprised. The Uchiha was much more thoughtful than he originally believed. "Okay, okay. Sorry. Happy now?"

"Not even close."

"Meh, you'll get over it." Naruto let out a smirk at Sasuke's grunt of annoyance. "Anyways, what I want to know is why, you of all people, went out into a storm to check on me? Kakashi probably told you I'd be fine."

"He did..." Sasuke trailed off, just staring at the flames as he sat on the sand.

"Sorry." Naruto chuckled. "Your ego stopped me from hearing what you said."

If looks could kill, Sasuke's glare would have made Naruto a pile of mush on the beach, but after a few moments of futile glaring the Uchiha gave a sigh. "That place you were in..." Sasuke rested his chin on his palm. "Where you feel alone, lost, unsure of what to do. It doesn't cause you to think straight." he frowned. "It makes you angry... angry that everyone has sudden expectations now that you're the last of a clan."

Naruto's casual demeanor had shifted into one of quiet contemplation. "Wow..." he whispered, shocked yet again.

Sasuke smirked. "Plus, I didn't want you to die before you gave me those gravity seals of yours."

Naruto frowned. "I almost thought you cared."

"Che, I barely even know you." The Uchiha snorted.

The blonde laughed. "Touche."

"Anyways," the Uchiha licked his salty, dried lips, "do you have any food sealed up?"

"Wait." The blonde interrupted. "What about the ship?"

"The ship's fine." Sasuke sighed. "While you were brooding..." Naruto would never get used to Sasuke saying that. "The captain actually told us that intense, massive storms were a trademark of the Uzumaki village, and even said, and I quote..." the Uchiha coughed, clearing his throat before his voice adopted a harsh, grating tone. "'Arrrrgh!" Naruto had to stuff his fist in his mouth. "Me vessel be the finest ship that sailed the seas. She may groan and moan when the storm comes, but she'll hold up.'" He finished looking up at the orange-clad boy.

The blonde was full-blown guffawing, holding his sides in pain. "H-how..." he continued laughing for a few minutes before it finally died down. "The hell did you say that with a straight face?" He wiped away a stray tear.

"That was funny?" Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

Naruto resumed laughing again.

* * *

(At the Hokage's office)

Hiruzen sat within the confines of this office, rays of lights streaming in as he smoked on his pipe. Giving a sigh, the aged man blew plumes of smoke from his nose, the wisps calming his senses.

"Ahh, smoking. It calms my aged soul." He blew out a ring of smoke as he resumed his paper work. But then a sound, quieter than a mouse caused the Kage to look up at the familiar form of his bandaged-face colleague.

"It's been some time, Danzo." Hiruzen said, setting down his pipe.

"Indeed, but I see that your smoking habit hasn't aged one bit." The cripple spoke, his voice withered yet poised.

"Neither have the wounds on your arm and eye." The Kage's eyes were emotionless and dreary.

Danzo disregarded the statement. "I can see that you summoning me isn't to reminiscence about our youth."

"Hardly."

"Then I don't know wh-"

"Do I have the word stupid etched on my forehead?"

Danzo was silent, although his complexion was calm and placid.

"From the very beginning, I gave you _direct_ orders to never be apart of the boy's life." Sarutobi's voice was firm.

The bandaged-man stared at his colleague, clearing his throat. "His potential is like a dam," the old man whispered. "The largest dam that my aged-eyes have ever witnessed." His voice grew insistent. "It exceeds ours by the barrels..." He looked to the pictures of the village's past leaders on the wall. "Even the Fourth's." his voice grew soft. "It could be the greatest asset the village has ever seen."

Sarutobi shook his head. "But if that dam breaks, it could mean the end."

"Hiruzen..." Danzo insisted.

"Minato gave me specific instructions when it came to him." The edge in the Third's voice sharpened. "And he _specifically_ said for you to stay away from him."

"But without the fox... it's like cutting off the boy at the knees. He needs guidance."

Sarutobi shook his head. "He'll learn as he matures. No more discussion." He cut off Danzo from speaking again. "I just wanted to be kind and courteous, and give you another chance. But rest assured, any more contact and there will be serious consequences."

"..." Danzo just nodded and vanished in a swirl of wind.

* * *

_Ninja's Log: Entry One_

_First off, I have no freaking clue why I'm writing this..._

"Naruto... what are you writing in that journal?" Sasuke asked as he looked at Naruto from across the fire, scribbling away like a mad man.

The blonde looked up. "Don't worry about it. Just documenting what's going on."

Sasuke blinked, before nodding. "Whatever."

_... but Kurama apparently says I need to vent so I stop being "emo." What the heck does "emo" mean anyways? _

_**"Means you're being a**** pussy..."  
**_

_But I'm getting off topic here. So let's begin. I am stranded on an island. Yes, stranded. No joke. However, there's something different about this island. I sent a clone to investigate the forest and well... since I'm also going to use this to flesh out my communication skills, here goes:_

_It's beautiful... to put it simply. The forest seems to hum with a mysterious, almost arcane presence. The ground is covered in a soft moss, and littered with leaves of all colors-red, purple, and green-both on the ground and in the surrounding trees. Now on to the trees. These trees were large and wide, but also rather short and stumpy. The blue sky was visible between the wide, leaf-covered treetops. I also saw many plants that I have never seen before in my life, and had a rather tempting urge to go up and pick one, but thought better... I've seen many movies where bad things happen with plants... very, very bad things._

_But anyways, I can safely say, this place is freaking weird. It's like a different planet. A spiritual, arcane planet... of awesomeness! Sweet Buddha, seriously! This place is sooooo cool! It's so awesome my chakra is literally bursting in excitement! Actually, now that I think about it, my chakra actually... hurts. That might be a problem. However, I am getting off topic again, so let's get onto the bad. Or, "venting".  
_

_I am next to an individual who is very slow witted because despite months of being around me, he still does not understand my ways.  
_

"I still can't believe you had a frying pan sealed in your arm..." Sasuke quipped as eggs sizzled in said utility over the fire.

_He does not understand the sensitivities, complexities, and (... no other word rhymes)ities of seals._

"What do you have next? An entire oasis of fresh water?" Sasuke licked his dry lips. He was so dehydrated his tongue had dried up. It was a strange feeling actually. It was raw, exposed, and almost leathery.

_I would do anything just to hear him stop complaining._

"Actually, I really could use something to drink. Do you have anything?"

*Poof*

A cloud of smoke appeared, unleashing a can of lemonade that bounced off Sasuke's head.

"Ow..."

* * *

Sweat poured down Yugito's brow as the humid air and hot sun baked her skin. She leaned on a tree as Setsuna was sleeping in her tent. They just had arrived at Uzushiogakure last night and had decided to rest before exploring the village, making camp near a ravine.

Licking her lips, the Jinchuuriki tapped her chin in thought. She had never been to this island before, but there was something mystical. She didn't know why, but the energy in the air seemed to calm her. It was, dare she say, spiritual in nature, which is probably why that dream was so much clearer. Speaking of said dream; it was interesting. She certainly needed to bring it up to her client, albeit in a subtle way. She didn't want to be thought of as crazy afterall... like the time when she had a dream about a giant, man-eating pasta and her dad took her to a noodle shop. She'd rather not bring it up.

Suddenly a demonic, bored voice drawled on. _**"Well, thank god you didn't have a dream about that baby, Ms. Pedo..."** _Yugito rolled her eyes at the Biju's comment. She wasn't even going to respond to that. _**"What's going to happen next? You going to dream that he carries you away in a wedding dress."**_

Yugito almost gagged. _"Okay_..._ first off: ewwww. Second off, it was just one dream. Third off: He flattened me like a pancake. How the hell is that attractive?" _

She heard the creature yawn.**_ "That's even more lame. Getting beat up by a kid." _**

_"Gahh, you're incorrigible."_ The blonde shook her head before her eyes widened. _"Wait, what __did you mean by 'father' earlier?"_

**_"Father was_ _pissed." _**She heard a whimper.**_ "Very, very pissed."  
_**

_"I knew that..." _

**_"If you "knew," you wouldn't have asked. Silly girl." _**The flame creature giggled.

Yugito let out an audible groan._ "Stop dancing around the question! Who is 'father'?" _

_**"A tree has many roots, all leading to the same trunk. Each a different path but the same destination. However, every single path comes along with its trials... and knowing Father, there are going to be a lot of trials." **_

_"Philosophical, dumbass cat! So you won't tell me who father is?"_

Silence.

_"I guess not..."  
_

She hated having the cat in her sometimes. Seriously, she was probably the only one with a pseudo-psychic, insane, all-mighty being of power stuck inside of her.

* * *

(With Naruto and his friends.)

_**"Sooooo..."** _Kurama drawled._** "What you doing, buddy?"** _

_"I'm walking..."_ Naruto muttered in annoyance. Indeed, he and his raven-haired teammate were walking through the vast foliage of the forest.

_**"Che, smartass. I mean, what are you thinking about?"  
**_

_"Well, it's just weird, I guess. The air of the island itself is causing my chakra to..."_ The blonde looked at his hand; wisps of wind were circling his finger. _"...react."_

_**"Huh, looks like that ability the archaeologist talked about." **_

_"No, he said that we channel the power of the earth like a beacon. This seems different... like my own chakra is raging." _He could feel the rush of the air brush against his skin in greater and greater heaves.

**_"What are you saying?" _**

_"My body, it feels like its going to burst."  
_

The wisps of wind started to accelerate at higher rates, becoming gusts as his clothes began to flap. The leaves began to swirl around him, churning around him like a tornado.

Sasuke had stopped his walk to stare at the orange-clad boy. "Naruto? What's going on?"

The blonde's frame was shaking, pain racking his body as he fell on his knees. He shut his eyes as chakra winds roared around him in torrents, blasting back everything in a storm of panic.

Trees groaned, dust flew, and Sasuke landed on his butt as he watched in wonder. "The hell?" the Uchiha whispered in trepidation.

The blonde's finger dug into the earth as he tried to gain his bearings, waves of hot, piercing pain stabbing at him like knives. All he could hear was the intense pace of the winds beating against his eardrums.

He was unaware that when his eyes opened they were red. All he saw was the massive waves of dust surrounding him.

He didn't even notice that his chakra was a visible burning red, searing the ground in an intense heat. All he felt was the raging gales crescendo around him.

* * *

Yugito's eyes widened as she felt chakra, unrestrained and massive, blaze to the west.

"The hell?" The Jonin could've sworn she heard the cat inside her whimper.

* * *

Kurama sat up in his cage, his eyes narrowing as he saw the entire dull, black room glow with a rich, primal blaze of crimson chakra.

**_"This chakra..."_** It was strong, vast, and full of life like his own. It raised an insurmountable number of questions. However, the fox didn't have time to ponder because the mindscape began to rumble as miniscule but growing tremors began to boom beneath its feet.

_**"What have you done this time, brat?"**_

* * *

The blonde's breath quickened as his heart rose. He couldn't move, his entire body felt like it was in a blender as the winds tore at him, leaving nothing unscathed from their rage.

_**"Naruto," **_the massive being boomed in his head.**_ "I need you to listen quick. I don't know what's going on, but you need get rid of this chakra."_**

The Genin didn't reply, his entire body screaming in agony as the massive, red chakra oozed out of his skin.

_**"Dammit you idiot! **__****__**You're going to explode!**_ Expel it!"

Even throughout the pain, the boy could move his mouth. "Expel it..." He strained. "No..." The blonde looked up, sucking in a deep breath as he reigned his mind in, focusing his chakra in his lungs.

His red eyes burned with an ethereal power._ "I'll unleash it."  
_

He opened his maw and yelled.

* * *

Sasuke had a long time ago gotten a safe distance away behind a tree, so the massive hurricane didn't harm him as he heard a roar, scream, yell all roared to one. It was a sound that pierced his ears with several different frequencies.

He couldn't put it into words as it reverberated his head, but it was like a man, woman, and a tiger were all screaming at the same time. It created a shockwave that rocked everything in the vicinity, blasting debris, rocks, trees and all other bits of earth away in boom of chaos.

It kept on going, causing his entire body to vibrate for what seemed like hours, when it was only seconds. But then it stopped, the torrents of wind and blazing chakra vanishing along with the noise.

Gulping, the young Uchiha peered from behind the tree.

He saw his teammate, chest heaving up and down, body bloodied and bruised as he stood on his knees. But that wasn't what drew Sasuke's attention, nor was it the ten-foot crater and the decimation of charred foliage that surrounded his comrade.

What drew his attention was the red, celestial aura that enshrouded the pariah's body. It was humanoid in shape, hugging the blonde's form like a thick, second skin. But for he could fully observe it, the blonde looked up at him, blazing red eyes staring back with a strained, beaten smirk.

"You scared?"

He collapsed, the shroud of crimson chakra evaporating.

Sasuke didn't even speak as he just stared dumbly at the sprawled out form of his teammate.

He blinked, rubbing his eyes as he licked his lips one more time. Turning his head he surveyed the destruction around him. Then he pinched himself, a tinge of pain causing him to wince. He wasn't dreaming.

"The hell just happened?" the Uchiha yelled.

*Crack*

The tree behind him fell, missing him by a few feet.

_**To be**** continued...**_

* * *

_So... I'm taking it the last scene really threw you for a loop. Don't worry it will be revealed what that was. It's something special and very specific to this story._ _That being said, was it epic? I tried to make it so. Anyways, this chap was shorter than I'd like so i decided to give you another Omake. Hopefully you enjoy it._

* * *

_Omake__: _**_A Battle for the Ages._**

(Two years ago)

Naruto sat in his mindscape, opposite of the fox, who sat criss-cross from the blonde, holding its chin in its palm as it drummed its fingers on the floor.

**"Why are you here, brat?"**

"I'm getting tired of the constant attempts to get me out of my room."

**"So? Get your ass up and interact with people your own age. It'll be good for you."**

"I have a better idea. How about we make a deal?"

**"Pfft, like you have anything that I want."**

"You'll be able to get me out of my room."

**"Come again?"**

"We're going to fight. If you win, I get out of my room. If I win, you leave me alone for six months."

**"Interesting, so what type of fight?"**

"A Yo-mama fight."

**"..." **It blinked.** "The fucks a Yo-mama fight? Do I hit you repeatedly with your mother?"  
**

"Umm, no.**"**

**"Then what the hell is it?" **It yelled.

"We basically make jokes about eachothers mothers. Saw it on TV." Naruto quipped, his face blank.

**"You think that I have a mother? I'm an embodiment of chakra!" **It gestured towards itself.**  
**

"It would be a figurative mother."

**"Oh, I can work with that." **It mused.** 'So a battle of insults, huh?" **It grinned.

"Wait, wait, calm down." Naruto waved his hand.

**"What?"**

"You think I'm going to really engage an embodiment of hatred in an exchange of insults?" Naruto shot him an inquisitive look. "Screw that! No, its compliments."**  
**

The fox blinked and scratched its head.** "We're going to try to see who can compliment the other mom better?" **

"Yep," he nodded.

**"Seriously!?"  
**

"You think you'll lose?" Naruto had a playful smirk.

**"Oh screw you." **It narrowed its eyes.** "Fine then, you start."**

Naruto jumped up, pumping his fists up in triumph, before pointing at the beast. "Yo mama so cuddly, that puppies think she's adorable!"

The fox stared at the blonde for a few seconds, giving a look that said 'seriously'?

Naruto in turn gestured for the fox to respond.

**"Uhhh... Yo mama so nice, she makes Buddha feel horrible!" **Naruto was a little shocked. That was actually good. It caused him to fail a bit in his next comment.

"Yo mama so nice, I have to say it twice! She's... nice..." He finished lamely.

The fox grinned.** "Yo mama so pleasant, instead of sweating she creates a continuous gentle breeze!"**

"Yo mama so awesome, she gave a man a stroke by just staring at her!"

**"Yo mama so indescribably awesome that... I have a hard time describing her!"**

"Yo mama so nice, she would let me knit sweaters for homeless kittens made out of her own hair!"

**"Yo mama so clean, that she makes the soap feel dirty when she takes a shower!"**

"Yo mama so energetic, she equals mass times the speed of light to the second power!"

**"Yo mama so unpredictable that psychics refuse to give her a reading!"**

The brutal battle of compliments raged on for days on end, months even (it was thirty seconds). Both foes using their unmatched wit to outdo one another, their words of generosity and kindness bringing joys to mothers everywhere. It was truly a battle for the ages that had no clear winner until Naruto said:

"Yo mama so convincing that she convinced a guy to kill himself because he killed himself!"

Silence.

**"Wait, what?" **The fox scratched his head.**  
**

"Hah! I win!" Naruto grinned

It blinked before palming its face.** "Wait, seriously?"  
**

"Yes." He gave a v-sign.

**"I hate you."**

* * *

_Anyways, yeah. There we go! I hope you all enjoyed that! A little less meaty than I would have liked but it wasn't particularly slow-paced so it should have been exciting enough._

_Please Review! Seriously! I love hearing what you have to say, whether good or bad!_

_Storm out._


	11. Chapter 11

_Again, I'm happy this story is being so well received. Especially since it is my FIRST FREAKING STORY. Therefore, I know it's flawed. But I'm glad you guys are holding onto it regardless. _

_That being said, chapter two makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon. I'm going to do some major overhauling of that._

_...and the Ellipses..._

_OH MY FUCKING GOD THE ELLIPSES!_

_That being said, I feel proud of this chapter. I hope you like it :D_

_Also, despite what I've said describing her, keep in mind Yugito is a JONIN!_

_Anyways, on with the fic._

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: A Tango of Death: Part One  
**

The familiar feeling of the hard floor was the first thing that Naruto noticed. Opening his eyes, he stood up and got reacquainted with the realm within the seal.

**"Well, well. Look who decided to wake up?"** Naruto turned his head to the massive iron gate that held the grinning form of his warm, fuzzy friend.

Giving a sigh, the blonde said, "Have any idea what that chakra was about?" Almost instantly, the fox's complexion became serious.

**"That's the question of the moment, isn't it?" **The beast rested its chin on its paws. **"Well, as you already know, that chakra is strikingly similar to my own, and it seemed to come from you."**

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You said 'seemed'..."

**"Indeed, because as that chakra surged from outside your body something... interesting happened within." **It looked to the side, confusion and disbelief evident on its face.

Naruto sat down, legs crossed as he looked into the fox's eyes. "Talk."

The great beast chuckled, redirecting its gaze at the orange-clad boy. **"You sure? What you're about to hear will blow your mind." **The blonde directed a dry look at the Biju before gesturing it to go on.

**"Very well..."  
**

* * *

The ground was shaking, vibrating with the massive crimson that interlaced every inch of the floor, almost knocking Kurama off his feet. But the massive tremors weren't what held the creatures curiosity, no, it was the way the chakra began to bubble, undulate before the cage.

It began to hiss as it solidified, forming a humanoid, yet demonic apparition. Though it was transparent, the energy around the creature began to shift and turn, like living lava. Eventually, the apparition solidified, landing on the ground in an inferno of blazing, crimson chakra.

But that wasn't what caused the fox's jaw to drop. It was when the creature lifted its head, its white, empty eyes staring into the fox's own. Though the fox was pained to say it, this creature was truly frightening. In fact, for the first time in his entire existence, the great demon quivered.

As before, the chakra shifted over the humanoid being's skin like lava, hissing against the air around it. It's face was blank, almost faceless, only carrying two voids of emptiness that studied the fox like a work of art.

Then, in a painfully suave manner, it raised a clawed finger, a slit opening where its mouth should be to reveal a frightening display of shark-like teeth, which were only held together by burning traces of goop.

"Fear..." It's voice boomed like a hulking tiger, interlaced with a presence that smelled, no _reeked_ of power. "You must..." Its maw looked like a bottomless volcano as the crimson chakra boiled around it, solidifying the creature even more.

But before it could speak again, the chakra pulled apart, vaporizing the creature into glob-like particles, before those too evaporated into nothingness.

Kurama reeled away in shock and confusion, unable to understand what just transpired.

* * *

Naruto stared at the crimson orbs of his tenant. "Something invaded my body and tried warning me?"

The fox snorted. **"No, it was trying to wish you a day full of rainbows."**

Naruto eyes widened in wonder. "Do the rainbows lead to pots of gold?"

A growl was his response.

"Okay, okay!" The blonde raised his hands in defense. "Sheesh!" He scratched his head. "So do you have any idea of what it is?"

**"Possibly,"** it hummed, "**but the odds of it being what I'm thinking are unjustifiable." **By the fox's tone, it was clear it wasn't divulging any more information.

Naruto frowned, resting his chin on his palm as a wave of disappointment fell on his shoulders. "Well that sucks..."

**"Indeed."  
**

"I was hoping it was some kickass bloodline that activated because I stepped on the island."

Silence met that response, which was soon accompanied by the fox hitting its head against the cage..

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM*

The fox couldn't believe it! Wait, it could. But still! The brat was dismissive of the fact that a _super ghost_ had _invaded_ his body!

"Ummm, you okay?"

**"No! I am not okay! Besides the seriousness of the situation, you have any idea how nonsensical that is? How utterly illogical that is?"** It waved its arms wildly. **"I thought you were a man of science!" **It directed a clawed finger at its jailor, who in turn shrugged.

"You don't even understand science."

**"My brain is too busy being awesome to understand science!"  
**

"Then why make a comparison with something you don't understand?"

The fox glared long and hard at the boy, baring its fangs. **"At least I'm not a midget."**

Naruto yawned. "At least I don't have rabbit ears." His smug smirk was met with a look of pure rage and uncontrollable twitching.

The blonde's hand glowed a heavenly blue as he raised it in the air.

**"GO!"  
**

His palm hit the ground, glowing arrays of symbols blossoming forth as chakra began to undulate around his frame.

**"FUCK!"**

A massive tsunami of chakra shot out from the boy's frame, barreling towards the demon.

**"YOURSEL-!"**

*BAM*

The conglomeration of energy rammed into the beast, blasting it off balance and onto its back, knocking it out.

The orange-clad boy wiped his hands, grinning.

"Ahhh, silencing seals! Gotta love them!" The blonde stood up, phasing out as he returned to the realm outside the seal.

* * *

As he coaxed his mind into reality the first thing he noticed was a constant dripping. Opening his eyes to an eery darkness, the blonde pushed off the cold stone ground, wincing as a wave of pain swarmed through him. But despite the discomfort, Naruto studied his surroundings further, noting the jagged rocks and the glimmering light that shined like an exit to a tunnel.

"Great..." he hoarsed out, clutching his tender throat. He was in a cave.

"I hardly find anything great about this."

Snapping his neck, Naruto found Sasuke leaning against the wall, red-faced and scratched up.

"Wha..." The blonde clutched his throat, wheezing as it burned like its walls had been coated in acid. Holding up a finger to the Uchiha, the blonde threw his head up and unsealed a water bottle, gulping down its content. "Th... that's better." Naruto hissed, sealing the bottle back. "So, why did you drag me into a cave."

The question caused Sasuke's face to fall, veiled beneath the shadows of their surroundings.

"There was a ninja..."

Naruto's relaxed demeanor dissolved, giving way to tension as he felt a wave of despair fall on his shoulders. "Wait a second!" he spat. "An enemy ninja attacked us!" A non-konoha ninja coming to an abandoned island the exact time as them? The odds were all but impossible.

The way shook his head should have been comforting, but his look of distress sent a chill down Naruto's spine.

"Oh crap..." the blonde's eyes widened in realization. "You attacked them, and then they attacked you!" Naruto cursed, smashing his fist against the wall.

Sasuke's face was a contortion of emotion: confusion, anger, and pain. "I..." he almost choked on his words. "I panicked." He clenched his fists. "It was-"

"Describe them to me." Naruto had disregarded his pain, standing face to face with the Uchiha.

Sasuke open and closed his mouth for a few seconds, before clenching his teeth. "It was all a blur..." he whispered. Naruto clenched his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted nothing else than to deck the Uchiha in the face, but he didn't have the time to duke it out.

"Damn it Sasuke, work with me!"

The Uchiha looked away, furrowing his eyebrows, though from irritation or focus, the blonde couldn't tell. "She was from Kumo."

Naruto nodded, that narrowed it down quite a bit, actually. "Anything else?"

"It... it's fuzzy." he shook his head. "I have a vague sense, but I'm unsure." He paused. "Wait, she was blonde..."

At the word "blonde," Naruto's blood ran cold. He only knew two ninjas of Kumo with blonde hair. "What was her chest size?" Sasuke had no idea how Naruto said that with a straight face.

"Wait!" Sasuke barked, red faced. "What do her tits have to do with this?"

"They have everything to do with this!" Naruto snarled. "Now tell me! Were they awe-inspringly huge? Or were they moderate?"

Sasuke just stared, before hissing as Naruto seized his shoulder, locking eyes with him. "This is completely important." the enigma spoke.

"Uhhh..." He stammered, before blinking. "Wait! She had beads!" He continued as Naruto widened his eyes. "Yes, there was a chain of them around her left hand." As the last words were uttered, Naruto stood up an began pacing, shaking his head and rubbing beads of sweat from his forehead, both from the humidity of the cave and the stress.

"You..." He stopped, directing a stone cold gaze at the Uchiha. "You attacked Nii Yugito."

Sasuke blinked before shaking his head slowly in the positive.

"H-how bad is i-?" Sasuke suddenly felt his mouth clamped by Naruto, who's own visage was a mixture of confusion, worry, and doubt.

"I need you to listen very closely." The blonde's voice had an unusually solemn timber. "Nii Yugito is one of the top three ninjas of Kumogakure. She is extremely loyal to her fellow ninjas and clients. However..." Naruto trailed off, licking his lips. "If you attack her, she has an unnatural willingness to kill. In fact, she has a fight kill ratio of approximately one to one." The way the blonde said, made it sound like their own deaths were imminent. "She is cold, ruthless, cunning, and extremely intelligent..."

The took his hand off the Uchiha's mouth, pacing and scratching his head as the Uchiha's said, "So you're saying we're... Dead." The Uchiha almost gagged at his own weakness.

"No, Sasuke..." The blonde looked away, leaning against the wall. "I'm saying you fucked up." The orange-clad boy's finger dug into the cold-stone, spider-web cracks blossoming forth.

Despite all the information the blonde stated, that wasn't why he was worried. He was worried, no absolutely _**horrified**_ because that woman was the demon-container of the two-tailed cat.

Just how was he going to get himself out of this one?

"Come, let's try to prepare ourselves before she gets here." He walked towards the edge of the tunnel.

Sasuke, though he be damned to admit it, was truly terrified. Naruto, the strongest person that he knew of his age, was _scared_. Shakily getting up on his feet, the Uchiha followed. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to set up traps." After a few moments the irritated blonde walked out of the cave, coming face to face with an open field surrounded by an endless expanse of mulch-colored shrubbery.

"Wait, Naruto..." Sasuke called out. "Let me explain what happened!"

"That's not important, Sasuke." Naruto glared. "I get that you were scared and panicked from what just happened, but you still fucked up!" The blonde resumed studying his surrounding, noting the cliff off in the distance.

Sasuke clenched his fists, his pride bruised. "You would have done the same! And besides, you need to calm do-"

"Bullshit!" Naruto spat, snarling at his teammate. "You don't know me at all! And why the fuck should I be calm? Huh!" He balled his fist in front of the Uchiha. "If you didn't try to save me in the first place, we wouldn't be stuck on this island! So screw calming down!"

Sasuke froze in shock, before his own features contorted in fury. "That's the problem, you asshole!"

Naruto stopped, blinking. "Huh?"

"Nobody knows who the hell you are! Heck, you still didn't explain that chakra spasm back there!" Sasuke's eyes rage filled, almost red. "You're nothing but a liar and a cheat! Lying to everybody and pushing them away!" Sasuke was glaring into his teammate's eyes, not backing down. "So I screwed up a bit!"

"No!" Naruto's face was mere centimeters from Sasuke's face. "You fucked up! And I don't have time for this..." Naruto growled, "I don't need to explain myself to you. For now, just take that stick out of your ass, and accept that you put both of our lives in Jeopardy." The blonde turned around before the Uchiha grabbed his shoulder, causing the boy to stiffen and creak his head to the side.

"I'm just saying calm down! We can't beat a Jonin if our judgement's clouded."

Naruto gave Sasuke a hard look, gritting his teeth. Though the blonde didn't want to admit, though he wanted nothing more than to deck the Uchiha in the balls, he took a deep breath.

"You're right..." The blonde sighed, but his face hardened at where Sasuke's hand was. Needless to say, the raven-hair boy retracted his hand. "Okay..." The blonde had his finger in the Uchiha's face. "First off, don't touch me again. Got it?" The way the blonde glared made Sasuke nod. "Second off, do it and I'll kill you."

"Oh, kill me? How mean." The voice wasn't Sasuke's. "Honestly..." Both boy felt an arm drape over their shoulders, causing their heads to edge in the direction of their new guest. "I'd hate to see what you'd do to enemies, eh whiskers-san?" Though the woman's voice was sweet, it was almost over-saturated, becoming sickening instead.

Both Genin felt their heart sink as they were face to face with Yugito Nii. The Jonin had an innocent, almost forced expression plastered on her face.

"Here I was, just minding my own business 'till this very interesting chakra explosion happened." She chuckled. "It was pretty interesting, neat actually, but when I came to see what happened, flame breath over here," She said kindly as she gave Sasuke an all too playful nudge. "Decided to shoot a fire jutsu at me!" She giggled, edging her face to Naruto's. "I mean how rude, right? I was just curious and minding my own business!"

Oh god, they were dead.

"And then wouldn't you know, after he threw that fire jutsu, he threw a flash bomb and escaped with your body, the nerve!" She laughed again as her arms hugged the boys a little too close for comfort.

So. Fucking. Dead.

"Now that I found you, the question is, how do I kill you?" The way she said it was so spin-chilling, like she was promising to give them candy.

Sasuke had rarely felt so frightened in his life, the only other time was that night several years ago. However the situation was completely different, this woman wasn't leaking any killing intent at all, it was just that disgusting sarcasm, complete certainty, and most of all, Naruto's fear that frightened him. He glanced at the blonde, hoping that his friend had a plan, any plan.

Said blonde, eyes were widened in shock, but his mind was racing, acting quick he opened his mouth.

"It seems we got on the wrong page, miss?" Naruto patted her on the back, adopting a look of flippancy.

At that moment Sasuke realized something; Naruto had balls... magnificent, magnificent balls.

Not saying he was gay or anything, but damn.

"Oh..." The blonde woman quirked her head. "Attacking me on sight is a misunderstanding of some sort?" Her grip tightened on his shoulder.

"Why, why yes!" Naruto waved his free arm in a dramatic fashion. "You see, my teammate is incredibly stupid." He stated it like it was a fact.

Yugito directed her eye at the Uchiha.

Sasuke did not like where this was going...

"I mean look at his hair!" Naruto pointed. "It's shaped like a duck's ass! Who the heck thinks that's attractive?"

"My..." Sasuke spoke, almost sweating under the gaze of the two. "...mother liked it..." it was the truth.

Yugito just watched in amusement as the blonde continued. "See! No independence of thought!"

The Jonin giggled, which was strangely erotic and horrifying at the same time. "Indeed, he doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed." The way she loosened her grip on the blonde gave him further confidence. But at the same time, Sasuke's ego was being smashed in with a sledgehammer.

"Not to mention the fact that he lashes out at everything!" Naruto exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Heck, he had to go to anger management several times!"

At this Sasuke growled, anger ignited. "Only twice!" He balled his fist at the blonde.

Yugito's eyes widened, she was currently using her touch and chakra to measure the boy's heart beat. It was true.

"See! Look!" Naruto exclaimed. "He just lashed out!"

Sasuke's eye was twitching. "You're dead."

"Oh my god! See what I have to deal with!?" He gave Yugito a pleading look. "See miss, it was just a misunderstanding."

The Jonin nodded, her arms falling to her sides. "Yeah, you're teammate has anger issues and loves blowing shit up." She chuckled again.

"So glad you understand!" the blonde bowed. "It won't happen again!"

Sasuke couldn't believe it, Naruto's bullshit was working! He wanted to hug the blonde right there!

Yugito nodded, smiling as she ruffled the enigma's hair. "Because you amused me, I'll give you a thirty second head start."

Oh... nevermind.

Sasuke, despite his pride, made a mad dash, his legs carrying him fifteen feet away in a blink of an eye.

However, at the same time, Naruto's mind processed every single scenario possible and sadly came to one conclusion, running was pointless. Just as the Jonin retracted, Naruto, in a brilliant display of speed seized it.

"Only one option left." Yugito's eyes widened as his fingers began to dig into her arm, threatening to snap it like a twig.

However, in a mere flash Yugito's fingernails grew, becoming long as sharps as Katanas as they barreled towards Naruto's face as she brought her hand down.

All Sasuke heard was an ear ringing scream, causing him to freeze as the blonde appeared beside him, panting and crying in agony. But that wasn't what was so shocking, no, it was the fact that four claw marks were etched into the left side of the boy's face, from brow to chin.

"You..." The orange-clad boy cried, "You bitch." Naruto growled as the blonde woman retracted her claws and wiped her smudged and bloodied hand off with a rag.

"Well, looks like whisker-san ain't as skillful as he thought, eh?" She shouted with that same sickening sweet smile.

Sasuke wasn't drawn to the conversation, instead focusing on a sight that nearly made him puke. "Your..." he couldn't believe it. "Your eye?"

"Don't worry about it." Naruto waved it off.

However, at Sasuke's ghastly expression, Naruto glared and growled. "It's gone!" Sasuke was only staring at the smudges, and shreds of what was left in his teammate's eye socket. "I know!"

Yugito chuckled. "Looks like your teammate isn't such a violence loving maniac like you said, whisker-san." Both boys refocused their attention on the enemy before them.

They understood, their life clocks were ticking, it was only matter of time. However, one of them steeled himself, stuffing those fears in a pit.

"That's not my name." Naruto spat, clenching his fist, streams of blood pouring down his face.

The Kumo-nin blinked as the orange-clad boy continued. "It's Naruto Uzumaki."

The girl froze, her eyes widening ever so slightly. Suddenly, memories began to flood back as the puzzle began to piece together.

_'That blonde boy in my dream...'_

As she reminisced that vision his voice lingered in her mind. _**"Leave my home or**** die!"**  
_

It was so painfully obvious, that she nearly face-palmed. "So..." she spoke calmly. "That matters, why? There was a tinge of boredom evident in her tone.

"It's common courtesy isn't it?" He spoke, grinning despite the wound's searing protest. "For the killer to give his name to the victim."

Yugito gave out a hearty laugh. "Only an idiot would say that after they had their head nearly skewered."

"We'll see who the idiot is..." Naruto adopted a fighting stance, keeping calm despite his grim fate. "Right, Sasuke?"

Said blue-clad boy was looking down at the ground, his body still trembling, causing the blonde boy to sneer.

"You just gonna shake and hope she pities you?"

The Uchiha turned his head to their attacker. "I'm not trembling out of fear..." he spoke, his body tensing as he adopted a stance as well. "I'm trembling out of excitement."

Naruto grinned.

"As touching as this is..." Yugito spoke from behind them, causing them to turn their heads. "Your thirty seconds are up."

In a mere blur, she brought down both her arms, nails lengthening to thin katanas in their descent.

*Cling*

Sasuke, in an amazing display of reflex, blocked it with two kunai, causing Yugito's eyebrows to raise. "Interesting develop-oof!" Naruto had smashed his fist into her gut at break-neck speed, blasting her back.

But before she even touched the ground, both boy reacted, as if reading eachother's minds. Naruto drew his fist back while Sasuke breathed in, the former unleashing a torrent of wind and the latter unleashing a plume of flame.

The two techniques mixed together, fusing into a raging inferno that encompassed their vision and blazed towards the Jonin.

*_Boom* _

It exploded on contact, scorching the air and incinerating the earth in untamed fury. However, the woman walked out of the blaze like a demon, only sustaining a few burn marks on her clothes, skin unscathed.

"Not bad..." She smirked but suddenly froze, twisting her head side to side as she scanned for the two. Cursing, she clenched her fists; the two had escaped.

They were clever, that was for sure.

* * *

Sasuke tightly shut his eyes as Naruto carried him at speeds that he previously thought impossible.

"You know, Sasuke?" The blonde spoke as they raced. "I'm pissed."

"Why's that?" He had a feeling he knew.

Naruto quickly took a glance at his teammate. The Uchiha's eyes were a deep crimson, with black pupils and two tomoe swirling in each.

"Because I lose an eye and you gain the freaking Sharingan!" Naruto spat, though it was hollow. Needless to say the Uchiha had mixed feelings. Normally he would have rejoiced at unlocking his bloodline. However, his heart sank.

"Do," Sasuke began. "You have a plan?" It anybody he knew could think up something, though he loathed to say, it was Naruto.

"No, no I don't."

And so their life clocks continued to tick.

"How many more of those wind techniques do you have?" Sasuke asked, trying to think of a plan.

"That was the only new one, besides the dragon's roar you heard earlier..." Naruto said firmly, disappoint evident in his voice as he echoed both their thoughts. "We can't take her on in a straight up fight."

...and tick...

Sasuke clenched his teeth. "We're dead."

... and tick...

"Maybe...not?" Naruto said reassuringly, though Sasuke's pessimism held.

However, the ticking began to slow at the blonde's words.

"How..." Sasuke began, his body chilling. "Just how do you take down somebody that's hundreds of levels above you?"

Just then, a light bulb lit up in Naruto's mind. He adopted a curious gleam in his eye, one that actually caused Sasuke to pause. "You bring them down to your level." The mirth in the blonde's voice actually brought hope to the Uchiha.

Thus the boys' life clocks froze as a plan began to form within the enigma's mind.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Author's Note: And there you go! Did you like it!

I know some of you may be angry at the ending, but Duesal10 told me to stop it right there. He has a pretty cool story up by the way, called Hands of Time. Check it out.

Also: PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! REVIEW! I really want to know your thoughts! I put a lot of thought into this chapter and hope it shows!

Oh, but here's what you are all probably wondering at the moment.

Question: Does Naruto get his eye back?

Answer: No, no he does not.

:D

Until next time, Storm out!


	12. Chapter 12

Something brightened my day :D Got a review from this guy named McCabeRz. Let me say something LMFAO! His entire argument was stupid and baseless (made assumptions on false statements in the text), and sounded like a lame attempt at trying to sound smart. Although, it was REALLY ENTERTAINING! Holy crap! Like, look it up! Seriously! YOU'LL DIE! It's on the reviews page of chapter eleven!

XD

I'm only making fun of him because I gave an extremely calm reply as a response and he didn't respond back... (it says on his profile that he doesn't respond back to PMS... wow...)

Let me make this clear; since Naruto can't use the Kyuubi's chakra, he can't regenerate. Sad, I know. Plus let me say another thing, I took his eye and I'm not going to give it back, but don't you think I'll let him see in other ways? Seriously... have a little faith. I think you're going to like some moments in this chapter.

This is the start of the part of the story where it gets really fucking _fun__._

_**Tango of Death: Part Two  
**_

(Seven years ago)

A young blonde boy sat in a library, streams of liquid streaming down his face as he buried his face in a book. He just wept silently, not disrupting the vast calm of the never ending bookcases and human-void tables.

"Darn it..." He whispered, trying to wipe away the tears. "Can't focus..." He rubbed his temples as he closed his book, giving a sigh as he planted his face on the rough, hard wood.

"Hey there..." He felt a hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, the boy jolted upright, fumbling over himself.

"S-sorry!" He yelped, landing on his butt. Standing above him was a lithe, brown-haired girl, who was quirking her head curiously at the blonde.

"What's wrong?" She spoke, softly yet firmly.

"H-huh?" the whiskered boy wiped his face, sniffing as he looked away. "I mean, sorry. I'll be leaving now." His hand made way for the book on the desk. "I'll put this back."

She grabbed his hand, eying him firmly. "I've seen you before..." She spoke, tapping her chin. "You always come here everyday, from six to ten. You bury yourself in your books, and then you leave... like clockwork." the teen crossed her arms as she studied him. "Yet, you're here at eleven A.M. and you're crying. Why?"

The youth looked down, sighing. "It doesn't matter. You wouldn't care anyways."

"I've got plenty of time." A small smile graced her features as she pulled out one of the chairs.

"Huh?" He spoke, shocked.

"Sit down." She patted a seat next to him.

"Who are you?" His eyes narrowed as he stepped back. In response, the girl... giggled?

"Name's Yuna!" Her smile had blossomed to a grin.

Naruto blinked for a few seconds before opening his mouth. "Name's Na-"

"Oh, I know who are, Naruto-kun." She waved it off nonchalantly. "You often leave your ID at the checkout counter from time to time." Patting the desk beside her, she directed an expectant look at the boy. Blushing, the blonde boy walked and sat right next to her.

"So... what happened?"

The blue-eyed youth bit his lip, his heart beat racing as he clenched his fists. At first he was going to tell the lady to go away, but at her expectant look he gushed. "I was sitting by a tree at the park, reading a science book.." He trailed off.

"Then what?"

"I... I was just minding my own business and then these kids playing at the park threw their ball at my head. They started calling me 'nerd'... 'weirdo'..."

The girl listened intently, nodding and gesturing for him to continue on.

"Then the big guy, the leader I guess, started making comments at me. He started poking me, and his buddies started to gather around me... and then..."

He grit his teeth, tears returning. "I tackled him, and then I punched him..." He shook his head and outright sobbed.

The teen started to pat him on the back. "That's n-"

"Then I did it again... and again... he started bleeding and I did it again." He looked up at her. "I didn't stop until he was black and blue. All his friends just stared at me... and then they ran, calling me..." He trailed off, sobbing again.

"Calling you what, Naruto-kun?" Naruto looked at her in disbelief. She just stared back with brown eyes that held nothing but caring and understanding.

"A... demon." he hung his head low, his blonde locks shadowing his eyes. "I guess they're right. I mean, I just socked that guy in the face, again and again... and I liked it. No," he grabbed his face in horror. "I loved it."

The brunette patted him on the back. "You're not a demon..."

Naruto pulled away from her like her touch was acid, just staring at her in disbelief, tears drying.

"You're..." she spoke softly. "Human."

"Huh?" The youth replied, again.

"You sure do love that word." She giggled. "If I were you, I would have socked him in the face too."

"You're saying I needed to beat him up?" The blonde was appalled.

"No, no!" She waved her hands in front of her face. "I'm saying I understand. It wasn't right, but I understand. Many people would have done the same thing..." She paused, just staring at the boy's blue eyes. "Plus, from your reaction, those kid do that often don't they?"

Naruto nodded slowly.

"You wanna know why?" She smiled, ruffling his hair. At the boy's nod she continued. "Because they're jealous..." Her hand slid down, cupping the boy's chin. "Jealous that you're so much smarter than them, so much more capable than them. They can't understand you so they try to make themselves feel better by taking jabs at you, thinking that if they make you feel small, that it'll make them feel better." The blonde couldn't sense any evidence of hatred, anger, disgust within her words, leaving him, once again, in a state of shock.

"Why do you care?" He replied rudely and shoving her hand away.

"Because... I've seen many people in my few years here." Her voice grew soft. "But I haven't seen anyone like you." Her voice began to gain volume. "You walk through the world, your eyes full of life, trying to understand everything. I've never seen a child so intellectually curious, so driven. I've also never seen a seven year old studying electrical fields before." She said flippantly. "So in summation, you're extremely interesting, bright, and cheerful. So I guess, I just want to help you out."

Naruto stared at the girl, picking her apart like he was dissecting a frog. At first the girl thought he was going to storm out, but then he shrugged his shoulders, looking up at her with a look of longing.

"I..." he began, a thin smile spreading across his features. "I'd like that."

* * *

(Present)

_**"Embrace..."** _A voice, a resonating whisper of power, spoke, blasting Naruto's eye open. _**"You must..."**_

The blonde hissed as beating winds whipped against his blue orb. His entire form ached with a strange acid that flowed through his veins, and he almost gagged as a wave of nausea washed over him. "The hell..." He heard the wind beating against his ears, almost blocking the sounds of explosions and shouts. "Why... why am I dreaming again."

"Naruto!" The voice was a lasso, bringing the blonde back to reality as his senses sharpened and his mind raced.

"W-wha?" Shaking his head, the enigma reacquainting himself with his surroundings, blood running cold. Sasuke was carrying him on his back, sweating and panting like a dog as he raced through the trees. "I..." Naruto gasped. "I fell asleep."

"Yeah, dumbass!" Sasuke roared. "Knocked yourself out because of another chakra spasm!" The Uchiha's irritation was more directed at their situation than the blonde's action.

"How close is she?" Naruto asked.

"Too close!" The smells of embers filled the blonde's nose, becoming more and more apparent by the seconds. "Almost skewered you a few times."

"Indeed." Sasuke froze as he came to face to face with the blonde Jonin, who was hanging upside down from a branch perched above their own. "I have to say, I'm impressed. You bunch are the most talented Genin I've seen." she chuckled again, sending shivers down the youths. "Too bad I-"

Naruto disappeared from Sasuke's back, reappearing with his fist barreling towards Jonin's face. However, the woman anticipated it, a grin across her visage as her nails extended, cutting through the boy like tissue paper.

*Poof* Immediately the blonde exploded in a burst of smoke.

"Fool me once, shame on me!" They turned their heads to the side, eyes widening at the airborne blonde who was cocking his fist back. "Fool me twice!" His entire arm hummed with a blue aura. "Fuck you!" He thrust his palm forth, raging winds erupting like a volcano.

*Boom*

The explosion echoed throughout the forest, causing the earth to tremble as a miasma of dust lingered in the air.

Sasuke blinked, as he watched the thunderous blast from afar, somehow saved from its wrath.

"Now..." He felt himself hefted up on a familiar back. "Let me take over!" He saw the blonde grin triumphantly as he took off in a burst of wind.

The Uchiha licked his lips, shocked at the blonde's recovery.

"H-how did you do that?" At first he thought his words were lost against the winds that raced past them, but the blonde chuckled.

"I adapt quickly..." He glanced at the Uchiha momentarily as he kicked off the air into the higher branches of the trees. "Now shut up and rest! We need to think of a plan."

However, mid-flight, he heard a feminine chuckle.

"Nice try there."

He kicked to the side, blasting off an invisible platform as a pair of claws shimmered past him. Flipping, he landed firmly on a branch, glaring at the cat woman who nonchalantly yawned opposite from him, admiring her claws on a branch of her own. Although he didn't show it, Naruto was cursing at Yugito's unscathed state.

"What'cha doing there blondie?" She directed a wry smile at him.

"Che, I think you know." Naruto spat back.

"Really? I don't think I know."

"Oh, I know you know."

The wry smile blew into one of playful bliss as she tapped her foot. "I don't know what you think I know."

"Then what do you know?" He bit back.

"That you're going to be dead soon."

"Depends on what you're definition of 'soon' is. We all die at some point."

The girl chuckled, tapping her foot on the ground as she crossed her arms. "You're stalling."

"Then why are you letting me?" His eyes had already scanned their surroundings, making a plan as he tapped the Uchiha's leg.

Sasuke immediately knew it was Morse code, tapping back and communicating with the blonde while Naruto stared back at Yugito.

"Because I find your pain amusing." She quipped, crouching low like a lion.

The blonde scoffed. "Well aren't you a sadist?"

Before he could blink, Yugito was at his side. "When'd you get the clue?" She whispered, stabbing through the Uchiha, who disappeared in a plume of smoke. "Nice switch by the way, didn't even know when it happened."

The blonde shook his head, defiantly staring back, blue eyes radiating with an aura of defiance. "Shut up." He fingered his weapon's holster.

She quirked her head. "Oh?"

He snorted. "Your voice is fucking annoying." At this the Jonin lunged forward slashing her claw forth. Displaying astounding reflex, the blonde slid down, positioning himself under the flying lioness, pulling out a kunai and slashing upward. It hit a mere apparition as the Jonin phased out of existence, appearing with her claws poised at Naruto's back.

Sasuke reappeared with his Kunai poised at the woman's back, causing her to freeze mid-strike.

"Impressive." She murmured. "I might actually have to put in some effort."

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed. "You're the one at knife point."

"Because I let you."

Although the Uchiha could see, he could not keep up as the Jonin's claw sliced through his kunai like it was butter and she planted her foot in his gut. Blasted back, the Uchiha was rammed into the tree, gasping for air as his teammate slashed at Yugito's legs. The Jonin jumped up, dodging his strike as she slashed down. Bending forward, Naruto narrowly avoid the claws as they clipped the hairs on his neck, nearly slicing off his head.

They both rolled away, bouncing up and staring each other down.

"How you holding up?" Naruto asked, still staring at his opponent. Sasuke coughed from behind him.

"She has a mean kick. Shattered a few of my ribs." Naruto clenched his jaw, this was going nowhere, fast.

Yugito's eyes were narrowed. "How?"

"What?" Naruto replied.

"I just stabbed out your eye, yet you're fighting so relaxed and fluidly. No loss of balance, time, rhythm, reflex..." She quirked her head. "I've honestly never seen that."

Naruto shrugged. "My brain captures, analyzes, and synthesizes information several times faster the normal human mind. I adapt to any situation, whether I want to or not." He twirled his Kunai, which glimmered in the afternoon sun. "Now are we going to talk or dance?"

"Dance? Why, I don't have a dress!" She feigned a look of horror, her eyes fluttering wildly.

"Funny." He growled before glancing at Sasuke. "Run. I'll hold her off." he whispered.

The Uchiha just stared back at the blonde. This went completely against the plan. However, at that moment, he realized that he would do more harm than good at this point. Although it burned ever fiber of his being, he nodded. "...fine..."

He dashed off.

"Pretty bold move you made there." She chuckled. "Heroic actually."

"Save it." Naruto growled, the sunlight shining forth on the marred flesh of his left eye. "Stop it with that tough-girl bullshit."

"Excuse me? What do you know about me?" She replied testily.

"Oh, want me to break it down? Fine." Naruto replied, a peculiar gleam of mischief within his orb. "You're probably orphaned, most likely abandoned by one of your parent, and raised by a single dad if you're straightforward syntax and blunt vocabulary are any indication." The first statement caused the girl's anger to slowly morph into surprise.

"I know that you've been training your entire life since the age of three, judging from your profile." He chuckled, a certain mirth becoming evident from the attention. "It's an impressively extensive mission record, not to mention flawless, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Nii is probably not your last name, Nii means two and you're the holder of the two tails. Too much of a coincidence."

He continued, enjoying her ever-widening eyes. "Then there's that classic farmers tan," he gestured to the rolled up sleeve that showed her contrasting skin. "I know you aren't a farm girl and you certainly don't sunbathe; you take every chance you get to travel away from the village and its abusive villagers, although that is understandable given your Jinchuuriki status. You remain loyal to the village through the abuse however as you proudly wear a cloud on your clothes, this stemming from your respect for your superiors and their treatment of you instead of the village, correct?"

Yugito's mind was racing, gears turning at the surreal deductions and accurate claims. "How are y-"

"Face it!" Naruto directed an accusatory finger at her. "You're just a frightened little kitten who has to take shit from everyone around her and takes it out on enemy ninja. It gives you a certain satisfaction of power that you don't have in your village. It gives you that temporary high because you feel in complete control, playing with other people's lives, when in reality you're a simple house pet that has to obey its owner."

The Jonin, red faced and fuming, stared at the orange-clad boy for a few moments, her mouth opening and closing before it contorted into contempt. Her heart raced at the Genin's defamation. She had never been so humiliated in her life. A _Genin_ had literally just deduced her entire life's story while analyzing her psyche. She, the proud prodigy of Kumo, felt vulnerable, felt exposed, and felt sadness clutch her heart as a looming force weighed down on her body. However, despite the weight, she steeled herself, snarling. "I could slit your throat right now."

"Oh!" Naruto had the smuggest grin plastered on his face. "Hit a cord did I?"

The Jonin was before him, claw at his throat. "I want to see your face when I rip out your throat."

"I doubt that you'll do that." He chuckled as her face edged dangerously close to his. "Because you're trembling."

"Because I'm excited to kill you." She snapped.

"No, because I made you feel _small._" Despite his close proximity, the the girl was unable to grasp the boy as he appeared behind her, faced away without a care in the world. "And now you're terrified at the consequences of toying with me for so long." The blonde fixated his eye on her, his grin so wide it hurt. "Wanna see the results, Neko-chan?"

She lunged at him, horror striking her face as he caught her arms before her claws could descend down upon him. The very force of the attack caused the entire branch to groan in protest; however, the blonde merely yawned.

"Feeling slow?" He mocked.

Realization suddenly dawned upon the girl's face as the branch below them cracked before abruptly breaking. She hit the earth, her feet buckling under an immense pressure as she collapsed on her knees, unable to stand. Mere moments after, she heard a sharp *Snap* as the tree tumbled down to the ground, opposite of her direction.

Suddenly, she heard the blonde chuckle again. Straining her eyes to face his comfortably upright form, rage boiled her blood at his smug-stained expression.

"Looks like you put on a few pounds there, Neko-chan." He spoke.

"What did you do?" Although it was question, it sounded like an accusation.

"You were leagues above me, so I simply brought you down to my level. And now, you're sinking further and further down." He walked around her, as if taking a stroll through a park.

"Quit it with the metaphor and talk!" She yelped, the pressure on her frame steadily intensifying, flattening the grass around her.

"Your first mistake was basing my preparation off of my teammate's reaction."

Yugito's eyes widened. "You told your comrade a false plan to fool me?" Despite her focused gaze, she willed her chakra to react, calling the demon within her.

"Exactly."

"I thought Konoha hammered teamwork into their Genin." She continued prodding, but her chakra refused to respond, raging within her and straining her coils.

"Which is why it was perfect." Naruto finished firmly, before flippantly continuing on. "So while you were basking in your arrogance, I decided to cut you down at your core, expose you to yourself, and leave you disgusted at your weakness. It was honestly disturbing to see how it affected you. Doesn't help that it was a blonde-midget who pointed it out. But I digress..." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Because you were overwhelmed with emotion and focused on me, you didn't realize I had summoned clones at the base of the tree."

The woman noticed that the entire ground was layered with intricate, ever weaving ink. Realization dawned on her visage. "You had them plant-"

"Gravity seals. Yes, as well as chakra disruption seals."

"H-h-"

"My body is already accustomed to operating at ten time's the earth's gravitational field." Naruto quipped while he continued circling her like a tiger stalking its prey. "And I'm interested to see how said intensifying field affects your body. I mean, it would be quite a sight to see a human body implode."

Yugito, for once in her entire time out on the field, felt truly scared.

"As we speak we're at three times normal gravity." The air shifted as Yugito felt an invisible hand dig into her back. Biting back a cry, the girl was smashed head first into the ground, form sprawling out. "Now four..." The blonde walked casually, twirling the Kunai while whistling a merry tune.

Yugito wasn't even focused on his voice, still reeling from the blow and the continuous crushing pain. Barely breathing, the woman willed all her strength to look at the boy's single functioning orb. Her blood ran cold at the sight: its color was inconsistent, oscillating between a deep cerulean blue and a blood-stained red, both glowing with a bone-chilling miasma of chakra.

"How...?" She whispered, but stopped her thought process as the invisible palm crashed into her back again. She could feel her organs rupturing as cracks blossomed in the earth around her.

"Now five!" Naruto laughed.

"Stop!" She cried, feeling her entire body fail. "Please!"

Instead of feeling sympathy, the blonde snorted in disgust. "How cliche. A villain pleading for help at their final moments."

Despite the pain, the woman bared her fangs. "What do you want me to do?" She barked, albeit weakly. "Cry!?" In response, the Genin walked forward, crouching down and cupping her chin. His red-orb boiled with a cool rage.

"No Yugito, I want you to die."

She froze, jaw agape as the blonde simply stood up and and walked away. Though she didn't know it, the blonde was more than satisfied, and was disgusted at the thought of watching her slowly implode.

"You're just going to leave. You're not going to say anything else!" The next words drove the nails into her coffin.

The blonde froze, giving her a momentary glance. "Who's the idiot now?"

Like clockwork, the moment the words left his lips, the invisible force drove her further into the ground.

"Six." The blonde voiced coolly, resuming his trek.

Her entire body-her organs, her bones- began to cry, searing with an unbearable pain as the life was squished out of her. All she could do was despair as tears streamed down her cheeks. She had let her arrogance get the best of her, let it blind her, and a _Genin_ had taken advantage of it. It was hilarious, her village would sneer at her weakness. None of her accomplishments, her achievements, would ever overshadow this disgrace.

She was going to die. She was going to be a blood-stained smear on the floor. Utterly horrified, the woman tore up her pride.

"I'm sorry!" She pleaded, rivers gushing down her cheeks.

Naruto stopped mid-step, and like a shimmer of hope the gravity began to loosen, giving berth to her breath.

Yugtio could still win.

However, the one-eyed boy's voice was deathly cold. "Eight." The gravity roared, crushing the life out of her.

Despite the agony, her mind kept on racing for a way out. "I can..." She gagged, spewing blood as her ribs punctured her lungs. "Give you information."

The gravity loosened once again, continuing to ease as the life ebbed back into the Jonin. Interest piqued, the blonde turned on his heel, walking towards her.

Yes, she still had a chance.

His expression remained stone cold as he stared her down. "Why are you here?"

"My client, Sokatoma Sets-" Naruto put a finger to her lip, eye widening ever so slightly.

"Did you say, Sokatoma?"

The woman nodded, desperately trying to mold her chakra again. Although it was chaotic and raging, it could be done. She just needed time.

"Hmmm..." The blonde tapped his chin for a few moments, causing the woman to grin inwardly. "Was she also investigating for treasure on the island?"

"Yes, yes she was." She nodded, her chakra slowly trudging to her arm.

"Interesting..." The blonde furrowed his eyebrows. "Have you found anything of value?"

"No, we haven't investigated the village yet."

"Then we're done here." He stood up and began to dust himself off.

Yugito felt her heart sink as her entire body trembled, sweating as her chance at victory slipped from her grasp. However, before the gravity began anew tears streamed down her cheeks as she grabbed the boy's ankles.

"Please... spare me." The boy glared at her hand.

"What did I say about touching me?"

He decked her in the face.

"Urgh!" The woman grunted but held on to his ankle. "I understand why you want to kill me! I made your life hell! I took your eye, but I changed."

Naruto glare intensified. He kicked off her hand and crouched down, staring her in the eye. "You're a horrible liar."

"You're right..." The Jonin coughed up more blood, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm just scared." She hiccuped. "I don't want to die."

As the tears glistened down her cheeks, Naruto's will began to break. He saw a defenseless girl who had just had her entire ego, her entire world shattered. Although he could feel his entire being scream in protest, he hesitated.

Gritting his teeth, the blonde's mind raced as looked to the side. "Give me one good reason why I should help you?"

The woman chuckled as the flow of tears ceased. "I don't need to." Her claws extended before the blonde could even blink, piercing his gut and erupting out his back. He could only stare in shock as the woman continued ramming both of her claws through his stomach, stopping once they were finger deep. Ironically, he had felt no pain at first. However, the woman grunted, slowly standing up with the vanishing gravity as she gutted him up in the air.

He tried to speak, but only tasted the metallic taste of blood as it dripped down his chin. As his senses focused, his body registered the sensation, giving way to a blazing, sharp agony that swelled through his very core, blinding him as he vomited blood over Yugito's arms.

"The tough guy always goes soft when the cute girl cries." In morbid fascination, she turned her hands at an angle. A sickening squelch was heard as the blonde's face turned red, veins bulging out as he wheezed. "Any last words, whisker-san?"

Naruto fixated his eye on her, rage so hot that it could ignite a sun. He gurgled for a bit before spewing a heap of blood onto her face.

"You're ugly."

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**Yeah another cliffhanger, next chapter will conclude the struggle against Yugito, and it'll also bring some starting revelations. And I mean some _startling_ revelations.  
**

**Seriously, your mind will be like O_O**

**DID HE JUST FUCKING DID THAT!?**

**Anyways...**

**As always PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Storm Out**


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